The Heart in My Hand
by chayron
Summary: Yaoi. Ichigo x Ulquiorra. AU. Ichigo has to take a quick decision when Ulquiorra appears in front of him again. He saves Ulquiorra and is slowly pulled into the Arrancar's pace.
1. Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach – it belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I am not making any money from writing it.

Warnings: 

1. Yaoi (male x male). Ulquiorra x Ichigo and vice versa. Other pairings?

2. Ichigo – almost 19 years old; Ulquiorra – probably a few hundred as a Hollow and about a decade or so as an Arrancar?

3. Post anime (haven't read the manga).

4. Alternate Universe.

5. I'm not a native speaker, thus expect various language oddities.

6. I'm not very familiar with all the details in the anime, and I am also new to _Bleach_ fandom, so I will be straying away from the canon quite frequently. I do my research but _Bleach_ is a vast universe that is not so easy to grasp. I must admit, though, that there are also things in the anime that don't make sense to me and I take the liberty of recreating certain parts of this universe as I see fit.

7. Looking for a beta-reader for this fanfic. You must be a native speaker and at least better at English grammar than I am. Please write me an email if you're interested.

Summary: Ichigo has to take a quick decision when Ulquiorra appears in front of him again. He saves Ulquiorra and is slowly pulled into the Arrancar's pace.

* * *

**The Heart in My Hand **

by chayron (lttomb yahoo com)

Part 1

Hot needles were pricking his entire body. Every tip was being driven deeper and deeper into his flesh. The pain was intense, searing. Hundreds of these painful pangs were seeping throughout his body, accumulating somewhere in the back of his skull. They were forming a white hot spear that was threatening to pierce his brain at any given moment. The only thing he could do was keep the pain away. There were no coherent thoughts in his head, just this – to withstand the pain. Always the same. How long had it been now?

It was pitch-black all around and he was floating in a sticky formless mass. He could neither move his arms nor legs. He wasn't certain he still had them. Had there even been the time when he had them? He could not exactly remember. Really, how long had it been?

Beside the searing pain at the back of his skull he suddenly felt a twinge in his chest. It started to spread quickly, creating a burning sensation that was new to him. Surprised, he tried to harness the new source of pain as well. It escaped him, though. He would suppress it and it would slip out of his grasp. His lungs soon were on fire and he started choking. There was determined ruthlessness somewhere deep inside him, there was also pricking needless of pain that he still was managing to keep at bay, and there was also the knowledge of the fact that he, apparently, had lungs and he was suffocating. The black sticky mass surrounding him was filling his throat and nose. The pain in his lungs was becoming worse and worse. He needed air.

Really, how long had it been?

With a gasp, he opened his eyes. His sight was blurry but he could tell that there was a black-haired woman leaning over him. She was looking at him, her mouth moving to form words, but all he could hear was booming sounds siphoning through his cotton-filled ears. She wasn't talking to him, though. He noticed movement on his right. He couldn't tell what it was but he could feel the danger. His attention then was quickly drawn to the woman, who suddenly grabbed at his right arm. She brandished a syringe.

The woman's neck snapped in his left hand as if it were a twig. Her limp fingers unwound from the syringe and it fell to the ground. He dropped the body and shifted, trying to sit up. It took him a few minutes to get his body into a sitting position. All the time he had been waiting for that second thing that was in the room to attack him. His vision was hazy, even worse than it had been in fact, everything around him blotchy. Panting for air and dripping with sweat, he finally managed to discern that moving thing. It was a small metallic thing moving on four thin legs. A robot of some sorts. It stood motionless for a couple of seconds then turned away and droned off to a long desk cluttered with various bottles and other things. Disregarding its surroundings, it started sorting through them. As if nothing had ever happened.

He had used up most of his strength in order to dispose of the woman and it took him a few minutes to get to his feet. After making a few steps forward, he collapsed. The robot turned to him to observe him with a lens-like eye then turned back to its bottles. He crawled to what he had thought was a door, yet it appeared to be a wide arc inside of which there was a black cube. He looked around again.

This obviously was some kind of a research facility, various pipes crisscrossing the room and its walls, long desks abundant in varicolored bottles and containers. There were a few glassy structures filled with some kind of greenish liquid. He finally spotted what seemed to be a door. He half-staggered and half-crawled to it. It appeared to be locked, the intricate lock demanding his fingerprints. Gathering the remaining strength, he crawled back to the woman's body. She was still there, under a narrow metallic table that he had found himself on when he came to. Her body was twitching now. Wondering how that could be, he grabbed the woman by her wrist and started dragging her body towards the door. He pressed her convulsing hand to the lock and the door slid open. Momentarily, he was blinded by the light. Blinking, he stayed still until his eyesight adapted. Leaving the twitching woman behind him, he crawled into the light.

ooOoOoOoo

At the sound of alarm, Ichigo raised his head to look at the white Seireitei towers. He wondered what happened. A chuckle bubbled in his throat as he remembered the latest cause for alarm – Renji, Rangiku and Yoruichi had been drinking and it came to the point where the women had challenged Renji to sound the alarm. The numbskull that he was, he had agreed. Byakuya had been livid to discover his lieutenant's prank. Renji was probably still not allowed to go anywhere outside Seireitei.

Almost two years ago, after Sosuke Aizen had been captured and sentenced to lengthy years of imprisonment, Soul Society became relatively peaceful. There were still regular hollow attacks but it was nothing similar to what it had been in recent years. And now, Ichigo was certain that the alarm was just someone's way of telling that he wanted a bottle of sake or maybe was missing his mom.

Huffing, he lowered his head and weighed the plastic bag in his hand then opened it to take a better look inside. He had promised Ikkaku not to look at the contents but Ikkaku had no business in sending him on various errands either, so they were even. Not the least bit surprised, Ichigo closed the bag. Five bottles of sake and a large roll of brightly colored fabric. This was some sorts of a thank-you-gift. It was rather strange that Ikkaku didn't deliver it to Shunsui personally. Wondering what it was about, Ichigo continued walking down the walled street towards the Eighth Division.

Ichigo rounded a corner and suddenly halted in his path. In shock, he nearly let go of the bag he was carrying. Stupefied, he stared at the pale figure in front of him.

"Ulquiorra?"

The Arrancar's incredibly green eyes blinked at him slowly. A spark of recognition lit in their depth. Ichigo watched Ulquiorra sway lightly and then lean against the wall for support. The Arrancar looked frail, all the ribs and veins showing clearly from under the alabaster white skin. There were also traces of dried blood on his body. What struck Ichigo as the oddest about the other male was that he was wearing a shinigami's robes. They were way too big for the Arrancar, hanging loosely on his thin frame. He didn't have his Zanpakuto either.

The alarm was still going off, the sound echoing all around Seireitei and Ichigo realized that the reason for it stood in front of him. A commotion somewhere farther away started, shouts and the running of feet heard. Questions piled up in heaps only that Ichigo didn't think he had enough time to ask them. Ulquiorra had turned his head and was looking back at the road he had just come from. Then the Arrancar's emerald eyes concentrated on the younger man again.

Ichigo saw Ulquiorra raise his hand toward him. It was clearly the hand that was asking for help but the words that followed the gesture didn't belong together.

"Kill me."

The sounds of the running feet and shouts now were coming closer. When Ichigo just stood there, caught in some sort of déjà vu, Ulquiorra lowered his hand and, holding onto the wall, moved forward. He could hardly keep himself upright. Entranced, Ichigo watched his slow-paced journey along the wall. Only now did he notice that the other man was barefooted. The Arrancar passed Ichigo, turning into the street the younger man had appeared from.

"I have already killed you before," Ichigo said, following him. "It doesn't seem I have been very successful. What makes you think I will do any better now?"

Ulquiorra didn't answer, didn't turn around, still continuing to move along the wall. Lost, Ichigo shook his head. He didn't understand what was going on at all. The Arrancar swayed dangerously and dropped to his knees. Ichigo stopped a little bit farther behind him. The older male turned his head to him, his green eyes staring blankly at him. He had seen that look before.

Cursing and berating himself in his head, Ichigo stepped closer and held out his hand. He was probably at a risk of getting it cut or chewed off or stabbed through, but there was something in Ulquiorra's demeanor telling him that the other man would not attack him. He could remember that Ulquiorra, like all higher class Espada, had hardly ever been aggressive and attacked unless provoked or when he had been following Aizen's orders. Since Aizen was no longer in control... And then, at the end of their battle, even if mortally wounded, Ulquiorra had also protected Uryu from him. If not for him, Ishida would no longer be alive.

Ulquiorra had a resignedly questioning look on his face when he took Ichigo's hand. The red-haired youth started pulling him to his feet then started as the Arrancar slumped into a boneless heap at the end of his sandals. The running feet were almost here now and, coming to a quick decision, Ichigo wasted no time. He gathered the listless body into his arms and flash-stepped down the road. Once the clamor was out of his earshot, he jumped onto the wall and then continued to flash-step to the west, in the direction of the White Road Gate. The only place he could think of taking the Arrancar was the basement under Kuukaku Shiba's house. Ichigo wasn't certain he would be able to remember the way, though. It was a long time ago when he had stayed there while training to create a spirit sphere that would allow them to break through the Seireitei's protective barrier. He would have preferred Yoruichi and Kisuke's hideout under Sokyoku Hill, yet that was the first place where they would come looking for him.

From afar, he could see that the west gate was open, Jidanbo juggling his axes next to it idly. He had not yet received the orders to shut off the gate. It was an unbelievable stroke of luck and Ichigo flash-stepped past the gate and its keeper without reducing his speed. He doubted Jidanbo had even noticed him. Rushing further down the streets and roofs of Rukongai, he tried to be unnoticeable and stay in the shadows.

When he left the town premises, he had to change his course a few times until he finally got onto the right path. Even then he had not been certain if he would arrive at the correct destination. He finally reached the place about thirty minutes later. Ichigo doubted he had ever been using flash-step for such a long time before. He didn't feel tired at all, though. Despite his worries, Ulquiorra hardly weighed anything. He thought that any of his sisters was probably heavier than the Arrancar and it was disquieting. Ulquiorra had not regained his consciousness either.

The house was no longer there, of course. They had left it in shambles when the cannon shot them out towards Seireitei. That and the fact that Kuukaku Shiba liked moving house meant that during all these years she had probably moved five times already. One could hardly see the ruins because of the tall grass. Ichigo carefully laid down the Arrancar onto the grass and looked around, his eyes scanning for the entrance to the basement. He finally spotted a pile of stones and rotting logs covering what seemed to be a trapdoor. It took him a few minutes to free it from all the debris. However, the door had no handle or a ring that he could grab onto and lift. After digging around and trying various things, he at last managed to hook his fingers under the planks and raise it. Huffing, he let the door drop and peered at the stairs that it revealed.

It was completely dark inside. Another unpleasant thing that he had discovered after having walked inside was that it was damp and puddles had formed here and there. It was probably even worse when it rained. Still, this was some kind of a shelter. And after looking around in the basement, he found a way to lighten the place – attached to the walls there were six esoteric stones that started exuding yellow light as soon as they were touched. Once he was free to explore the large area, Ichigo found out that it wasn't as damp further in the basement. He had also found various rags and clothes that had been left behind. He even discovered five torn mattresses. It was very likely that one of them had been used by himself when he had stayed here previously.

Content with his discoveries, Ichigo started climbing up the stairs. When his head and shoulders appeared from the trapdoor, his step faltered. His right foot hung in the air, never reaching the next stair. He stared at Ulquiorra, who was sitting amidst the tall grass, the plastic bag resting on his lap.

"Ah," Ichigo mumbled at the sight. "I am supposed to deliver it to Shunsui. I'll have to eventually, or they'll start looking for me."

The Arrancar didn't say anything to that, continuing to stare at the younger man with his incredibly green eyes. Ulquiorra was gazing at his mouth, Ichigo realized. He stepped out onto the field and approached the Arrancar.

"Can you hear me?"

Ulquiorra's eyebrows twitched at the way Ichigo's lips elongated the words but he shook his head slowly. He couldn't hear a thing.

"Can you talk?"

"Yes. I did talk to you earlier already."

Ichigo shrugged sheepishly. "Oh, right." Then, trying to avoid sudden movements and attempting to appear nonthreatening, he sat down opposite the Arrancar.

"How did you appear here?" He frowned when Ulquiorra looked around. "I don't mean here. How come you're alive at all?"

The Arrancar's eyes stared at Ichigo's mouth for a few seconds then he shrugged. He pushed the bag off his lap and lay down on the grass. He looked exhausted beyond comprehension.

"Kill me?"

"Listen," Ichigo snapped at him, "we have already gone through that. I'm not killing anyone here. Just tell me what's going on."

Ulquiorra had his eyes closed and it was obvious he could neither hear nor understand him. Huffing in frustration, Ichigo grabbed the other man by his shoulders and effortlessly lifted him to his feet. Now Ulquiorra was giving him a curious look. Did he expect he would finally comply with Ulquiorra's request? This annoyed Ichigo even further. Throwing and securing Arrancar's left arm over his left shoulder, he started leading him towards the trapdoor.

"What are you doing?"

Ichigo turned his head to glare at the pale face. "Trying to save your sorry ass. I'm actually thinking that I'll badly regret this."

It didn't seem that Ulquiorra understood what he had said but he didn't ask Ichigo to repeat. While he was being led inside the basement, the Arrancar didn't even attempt to resist, his light body mostly hanging onto Ichigo. He was trying to walk but, instead of making steps, his feet rather dragged.

"Who the hell did this to you?" Ichigo muttered softly even though he knew Ulquiorra couldn't see his mouth from this angle. He doubted the Arrancar would answer anyway. There weren't many creatures that could reduce Ulquiorra to this listless heap of skin and bones.

Ichigo led the Arrancar to the very end of the basement where he had prepared a makeshift bed from the mattresses. He had also dug out a small crate and put it near the bed. He thought it could serve as a table or a chair. True, it swayed a little but it was better than nothing. Ulquiorra's head rolled to his shoulder, then backwards and Ichigo turned to the other man. Had he lost his consciousness again? Carefully, he lowered the Arrancar onto the mattresses. Ulquiorra's eyes opened again. The gaze was unfocused, though, he staring somewhere above Ichigo's shoulder.

"What the hell are you grinning at?" Ichigo muttered. In fact, Ulquiorra's inquisitive smile was so unnerving that he leaned away from the other man. He didn't remember seeing Ulquiorra smiling before. On the other hand, his memories of him fighting the Arrancar were jumbled; so many things had happened back then. The grin… Right, Ulquiorra had hardly ever been aggressive and even saved Uryu. But then, he had always been detached and insusceptible to certain emotions. Very likely that was the reason why he had been so curious about Human reactions. He would even create scenarios to draw out various emotions and then would just stand and watch from the sidelines while analyzing. Ichigo could remember how much he had hated Ulquiorra for not allowing him to rush to Orihime's side and help her, forcing him to fight him, watching how her pain affected him. She had nearly died back then. Even now the Arrancar was probably seeing him like some kind of a research subject. That, or maybe Ulquiorra was just delirious, dancing with unicorns in his hallucination, laughing happily.

In any case, he needed someone to take a look at Ulquiorra. He also needed to find out what happened. And he also needed to deliver the bag to Shunsui.

ooOoOoOoo

It was ironic how he sought out Kisuke's help despite having avoided using his hideout. Ichigo, however, had not been able to come up with anyone else that could help Ulquiorra. The former captain had listened to him very intently. He had also told Ichigo that he was an idiot. Twice. Half an hour later, he had finally agreed to take a look at the Arrancar without reporting any of them.

Once they arrived at the basement, Ichigo showed Kisuke the trapdoor and then went to draw some water from the well nearby. He was pulling the bucket up when his whole body tensed at the feel of a familiar energy shift. The usual strangely distorted sound followed and the earth shook when green light tore from underground. A Cero. Ichigo dropped the bucked and flash-stepped into the newly opened hole in the ground. The sudden change from the bright light outside made it seem dark in the basement. There was also dust filling the air and even more debris under his feet. Moving forward, Ichigo blinked his eyes repeatedly. He could only see Ulquiorra's shape at the back wall. He grabbed the Arrancar by his raised hand and slammed him into the wall behind him.

"No! Hey!" Kisuke shouted, digging himself up from the nearest pile of wreckage. "It's alright, alright! I just startled him. He was sleeping and…"

Ulquiorra's wide eyes were staring at Ichigo in surprise, and Ichigo realized that the Arrancar didn't quite understand why, when seemingly trying to save his life, he did not allow him to defend himself.

"It's a friend," Ichigo said with a sigh to Ulquiorra. He let go of the older male but then had to grasp him quickly by his arms since he couldn't keep his balance and just slumped against the wall. "Ugh, sorry."

The Arrancar was giving him a dazed look. "A friend? Utter drivel. He's the former captain of the Twelfth Division."

Ichigo had to agree that Ulquiorra was making sense, especially now that Ichigo knew where he had escaped from. "He's fine, really. He will help you. If you are nice to him, that is."

The Arrancar was staring at Ichigo's mouth for some time then just gave up and blinked at him sleepily. Ichigo helped him to lay down back onto the mattresses.

"He's fine. He will help you," Ichigo repeated again, trying to make the other man cooperate. Even though he doubted that in his state Ulquiorra was capable of causing any serious damage to Kisuke with his Cero, the Arrancar could still be full of unpleasant surprises. He turned to Kisuke, who was keeping his distance from them.

Kisuke shrugged. "You can try knocking him out," he suggested grinning.

Ichigo sighed and turned back to the Arrancar. Ulquiorra was watching him from under half-closed lids. He was forcing himself to stay awake but was almost sleeping anyway.

"He is a friend," Ichigo repeated sternly, accentuating every word.

Ulquiorra rolled his eyes. "Utter drivel."

"He's quite stubborn," Kisuke noted. "Well, doesn't matter. Are there any external wounds on his body?"

"Not that I have noticed," Ichigo said. "The skin is unbroken under those dried blotches of blood. That's to be expected with his speedy regeneration, though."

"Check him for sure."

"Any wounds?" Ichigo asked Ulquiorra, trying to illustrate on his own body. The Arrancar shrugged and, slowly, Ichigo reached out for his robe.

Amazed, Kisuke watched Ichigo unfold the robes without even a word of protest from Ulquiorra. The Arrancar was completely naked under the robes. There were no visible wounds indeed, just smudges of dried blood like on his upper body. The fact of extreme malnutrition was glaringly obvious, too. Ichigo nudged him to make him turn on his side but there were no wounds in his back either.

When Ichigo covered the Arrancar in his robes again, he fell asleep. So as not to disturb his rest, Kisuke motioned for Ichigo to follow him outside.

"Well?" Ichigo required when they were back in the meadow. The setting sun was dyeing everything in yellowish colors and the air was getting cooler and damp.

"That Mayuri sure did a number on him," the former captain said with a soft whistle. "I'm surprised he had managed to escape in the state he's in."

"Yeah, but what's actually wrong with him?"

"Well, first, it's obvious he's malnourished. I think he will regain most of his strength as soon as he starts eating. But yes, you're right, there's something definitely wrong with him; he can use his Cero but he can't even keep himself upright. Well, there are no outside wounds but I can't say anything about his internal organs. And there's also the problem with his hearing..."

Ichigo was looking at him expectantly but Kisuke only shrugged. "If we want to know more, I need to take him to the Human World for further examination."

Ichigo put his hands up in protest. "Hey, hey, are you sure? We are talking number four Espada here! Actually, I don't think number four is even accurate."

Crossing his hands and putting them on the hilt of his Zanpakuto/cane, Kisuke huffed. "Really, Ichigo, why did you even save him if you want to drop him half-way?"

Ichigo turned to look in the direction of the basement. Mostly it had been the knowledge that, if apprehended by other Shinigami, Ulquiorra would kill; there was no need for unnecessary victims. Then there was also the sympathy and all other things he had been thinking at the time. He still wasn't certain if he had made the right decision.

When he had carried the bag to Shunsui, he had listened and asked around. The only thing that was clear was that a dangerous subject had escaped the 12th Division premises. It was also said that it had attempted to kill Nemu. Ichigo hadn't had enough time to check on the lieutenant but he was certain that the robot was as good as new.

From all this it was easy to surmise that Mayuri Kurotsuchi had been keeping Ulquiorra captive. How long and why he had been locked up, or how he appeared in Soul Society at all were the questions only the involved parties held answers to.

"Don't worry," Kisuke reassured Ichigo, "it's completely safe."

Staring at the hole in the ground blown out by a Cero, Ichigo raised his eyebrows. Kisuke was such a liar.

TBC


	2. Part 2

**Thank you very much for the encouragement and special thanks to 'anonymous' for the 'cane' :) I'm still looking for a beta!**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach – it belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I am not making any money from writing it.

Warnings:

1. Yaoi (male x male). Ulquiorra x Ichigo and vice versa. Other pairings?

2. Ichigo – almost 19 years old; Ulquiorra – probably a few hundred as a Hollow and about a decade or so as an Arrancar?

3. Post anime (haven't read the manga).

4. Alternate Universe.

5. I'm not a native speaker, thus expect various language oddities.

6. I'm not very familiar with all the details in the anime, and I am also new to _Bleach_ fandom, so I will be straying away from the canon quite frequently. I do my research but _Bleach_ is a vast universe that is not so easy to grasp. I must admit, though, that there are also things in the anime that don't make sense to me and I take the liberty of recreating certain parts of this universe as I see fit.

**7. Looking for a beta-reader for this fanfic.** You must be a native speaker and at least better at English grammar than I am. Please write me an email if you're interested.

* * *

**The Heart in My Hand **

by chayron (lttomb yahoo com)

Part 2

Ichigo couldn't believe he was going through the Dangai for the third time today already. He had actually gotten good at handling it, too. If one ignored the fact of his torn clothing and the bleeding right shoulder, that is. They should issue him with one of those black pass butterflies so that he could freely move between the Human World and Soul Society – he was almost a full-fledged Shinigami after all. On the other hand, that was why they didn't – here he was lugging around probably the most powerful Arrancar there was. Ahh… He didn't even want to think what would happen if someone got wind of this. His days as a Shinigami Substitute would be over. But really, he didn't want to think about this.

Ichigo glared at Kisuke's back ahead of him. The man was running through the dark tunnel swiftly, effortlessly avoiding traps in his way. It was easy for him to do so since he wasn't carrying Ulquiorra, who would give Ichigo a mean look every time he was given a jolt when the younger man had to jump sideways or forward. Ichigo thought that it wouldn't have been so bad if Ulquiorra had stayed unconscious or, at least, asleep.

When they jumped out of the Dangai and into the Human World, it was a moonless night around them. Karakura Town was sleeping already. Ichigo guessed that it was past midnight, maybe one or two o'clock in the morning.

"I know you're doing this only because you're curious what Mayuri was up to," Ichigo said when they were finally entering Urahara Shop.

Kisuke stopped in the doorway and turned around. "Oh, my. I've been found out," he chuckled, covering his mouth with his white fan.

"Wasn't difficult to do so," Ichigo grunted out. "And you can stop playing innocent with that fan of yours and it's also pretty cold already."

Kisuke closed the fan with a snap and moved forward through the door. "Aren't we bitchy today?"

"I've been dragging him around for half a day already. He's not exactly weightless or entertaining. I'm entitled to be a little bit bitchy."

"Well, I suppose," Kisuke said, groping around the wall next to the door for a switch. The light hit their eyes, making them blink.

"Who's here?"

Ichigo turned to see Jinta appear from the second floor. At the sight of Kisuke and Ichigo, he lowered his huge kanabo.

"Ah, it's you," he said, already turning around, climbing back up.

Ichigo watched Jinta disappear upstairs. Had he just ignored an Arrancar in his arms? Or was he half-asleep and hadn't noticed? Slim chance.

Grabbing this and that into his hands on his way, Kisuke led Ichigo to the back of the shop. "Here, put him on the sofa here until I get everything ready. There's a medical kit over there," he pointed. "Tend to your shoulder."

Trying not to aggravate his body more than it already was, Ichigo lowered the Arrancar onto the sofa and saw Ulquiorra nod off almost as soon as he had been propped against the backrest. Ichigo went to get the kit then sat down on the sofa next to the drowsing Arrancar.

"Shouldn't we feed him?" asked Ichigo while looking through the contents of the kit. "I think you said that was the root of most problems?"

"Well, yeah," Kisuke answered while brushing piles of paper off a strange device further in the room. "But not before I get him through this."

Ichigo gave the apparatus a more attentive look. It was a large oblong object, mostly metallic. There were rows of buttons on its left side and a large screen attached to it. He rather hoped it was a sophisticated mincing machine. That way his problems would be over and, after he was done with Ulquiorra, he'd also run Kisuke through it. Perfect.

Huffing, Ichigo ripped the rest of the sleeve above his right shoulder. The cut had already stopped bleeding and all that was left was disinfect the sides of the wound then slap a strip of plaster on it. He was done nearly at the same time when Kisuke switched his device on. Humming sound filled the room.

"Put him here," Kisuke said, pressing one of the buttons on the machine, making an oblong tray-like thing slide out from the inside of it. It rolled out on small wheels for about two meters then stopped.

A little unsure, Ichigo gave a sleeping Ulquiorra a look. There was no way around this, though, and, half-expecting another Cero to blow up in his face, he tapped the Arrancar on his shoulder. Confused bleary eyes blinked open to stare at him. Ichigo pointed at the device. Ulquiorra turned his head to follow his finger and then a frown set on his face.

"What is that?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Honestly? I don't know."

"You're supposed to convince him, not the opposite," Kisuke pointed out. "Make him cooperate."

"Well, what does it do?" Ichigo asked him.

"Hmm… Well, generally speaking, it will map his internal body out, making it easy to discern most problems."

Ichigo turned back to Ulquiorra. For a moment, he was tempted to tell him that it was a mincing machine. He scolded himself mentally. Hell, he was tired beyond belief. He was definitely going to skip lectures tomorrow and catch some quality sleep instead.

"Umm…" Ichigo hummed, thinking how to rephrase Kisuke's words in a much compacter manner. Finally, he gave up, pointed at the apparatus again and offered Ulquiorra the brightest smile he was able to muster. "It is safe."

"Utter dri-"

"It is really, really safe," Ichigo repeated cutting the Arrancar off. He was grinning so brightly now that his cheeks were hurting.

"Stop grinning," Ulquiorra told him. "What does it do?"

Ichigo gave him a helpless look. Then an idea occurred to him. He wondered why he hadn't thought of that earlier. He shot off the sofa and grabbed one of the loose paper sheets off the floor. He dug around for a pen then finally discovered one further near the door.

"Here," he said, writing quickly. Ulquiorra's green eyes were following the movement of his pen. Soon Ichigo was done and looked at the other man expectantly. He grew confused at the expression on Ulquiorra's face. The Arrancar was turning his head this and that way, then finally took the paper and lifted it in front of him. Blinking, he lifted it higher, then almost above his head.

"I think there's something off with his vision as well," Kisuke said finally.

Ichigo lowered Ulquiorra's hand with the paper to make him concentrate on his face again. "Can you understand it?"

"Yes, but it is all smudgy. Make bigger kanji next time."

"Fine, now get over there," Ichigo said, standing up. He held his hand out. Ulquiorra stared at it as if it were a snake then finally took it. Ichigo helped him to the machine. He was about to lift the shorter man onto the tray-like thing when Kisuke cleared his throat.

"What now?" Ichigo asked.

"He needs to undress before climbing here."

Ichigo huffed. "Say about these things in advance."

Kisuke made an abrupt motion with his hand to catch Ulquiorra's attention. "It will take about ten minutes," he said slowly, showing all ten fingers. The Arrancar offered him a mistrustful glare. Kisuke smiled politely; at least it appeared that Ulquiorra understood him.

To Ichigo's relief, once informed, Ulquiorra offered no word of protest, letting the robe be undone then shrugging it off his shoulders. Ichigo gathered it in his left hand then passed on to Kisuke. Both of them already had the impression that the Arrancar wasn't shy.

Once Ulquiorra was on the tray, it slid back into the apparatus. Kisuke pushed a few more buttons making the machine whir more loudly and light up in soft blue color. After he ascertained himself that everything was fully automatic, Kisuke turned to Ichigo, who was inspecting the machine.

"How come he trusts you so much?" he voiced out the question that had been bothering him from the very beginning.

Ichigo averted his eyes from the softly vibrating apparatus to Kisuke. "Umm…" he hummed, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I wouldn't exactly say that…"

Kisuke's eyebrows rose at that and he grunted. "You told me it was you who killed him. Yet he does everything you tell him to. This doesn't make any sense."

Wondering how to explain it, Ichigo scratched his head again. He didn't quite understand it either even though he had known in advance that Ulquiorra would not attack him.

"Well," he started slowly, "during our last battle… Well, we reached some sort of conclusion, some sort of…understanding, camaraderie, maybe? Not exactly. I can't really explain it. He does understand, however, that if I wanted him dead, he would be dead and..." not finishing, Ichigo shrugged.

Kisuke opened his fan and started fanning himself absentmindedly. He knew there was more to this story but he wasn't going to push it. Sooner or later Ichigo or Ulquiorra would tell it all. It went both ways, though: Ulquiorra trusted Ichigo, but Ichigo trusted him too. To some extent, of course. Ulquiorra was mostly a Hollow after all.

"You do realize that once he's better, he will be able to use Garganta any time?" Kisuke asked.

"But isn't that alright?"

"Well, yes, but Hueco Mundo is the first place where Mayuri will look for him."

Ichigo thought for a moment. He nodded. "That's true, but, you know, if he regains his strength… I think he's actually more powerful than Mayuri or any other captain for that matter."

Kisuke's wide eyes looked at Ichigo above the fan in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely."

Rubbing his chin with the fan, Kisuke turned to stare at the machine, the insides of which held the Arrancar. And yet here he was, malnourished, hardly walking, an easy target for anyone. Laughable. It had just been a sheer stroke of luck that he had met Kurosaki.

When, five minutes later, the machine had stopped humming, Kisuke rose from the sofa. Gathering the Shinigami robe in his hands with a soft sigh, Ichigo followed him to the apparatus. In a moment it opened to reveal a peacefully asleep Arrancar. Ichigo draped the robe over his pale body, starting him out of his sleep.

"This is all for today," Kisuke said, pushing a few keys on the side of the machine, the screen blinking a few times. The slot underneath the screen started spewing out papers. Kisuke grabbed two first, letting the rest of them drop and start piling up on the floor.

"I'll analyze the data and will be able to tell more tomorrow," he said, moving in the direction of the door.

Ichigo had helped Ulquiorra off and now was fixing the robe for him. Supporting the swaying Arrancar, he followed Kisuke out of the room and to the kitchen.

"I have to say this is certainly interesting," Kisuke muttered under his breath. He was half-examining one of the papers in his hand and half-searching for something in one of the cupboards. "Seriously, that Mayuri…" he said, finally retrieving a teacup from the cupboard. He started walking again and Ichigo followed him back into the room that contained the machine, which was still spewing out papers. Kisuke took a few more of them and marched into the living room. He was scrutinizing the documents then remembered he had forgotten to put some water to boil and returned to the kitchen.

After having followed the man to and fro in the house, at some point, Ichigo found himself outside Urahara Shop, the door sliding shut right in front of his perplexed face, nearly taking his nose off. Ichigo stared at the door. He should have expected this. He turned his head to his right to meet Ulquiorra's questioning eyes. They stared at each other then, in unison, turned their heads back to give the door accusing looks.

"You've gotta be kidding me…" Ichigo groaned. "You expect me to keep him at my place? My dad will go mental! What about my sisters?"

The door opened a fraction. "Thank you very much for your patronage." The door slip open a little bit more and a bundle appeared. "Feed him this. Not much at first. This should last for a few days. Drop by tomorrow in the afternoon." With that, a hand lowered the bundle onto the ground then the door closed shut again and ringing silence settled in. A few moments later the light in the porch went out and they were left standing in the dark. Ichigo frowned. A dog howled somewhere in the distance.

Ichigo felt Ulquiorra shift, reaching out for the dark shape next to the door. Nearly falling over, he grasped the bundle by the ends of the tied rope above and lifted it.

"What is this?"

It was too dark for him to read Ichigo's lips and the younger man didn't even try explaining. Defeated, he turned away from the door. His arms were already numb from carrying Ulquiorra around all day but there was no way around this. He made sure that the Arrancar kept good hold on the bundle, hefted him into his arms again and flash-stepped in the direction of his home.

The window in his room had been left open and Ichigo landed inside, on the windowsill. He brushed the curtain aside and carefully climbed onto the bed. He was about to step down to the floor when something shifted under the covers and a horrendous screech filled the room.

"You're stepping on me! On me! This hurts! Ow, ow! Get down, get down!"

"Shhh, you moron!" Ichigo hissed. "Do you want to wake everyone up?" He jumped off the bed, landing on his feet as softly as it was possible. Still holding Ulquiorra by his shoulders, he lowered his feet to the ground. The Arrancar swayed, but managed to keep himself upright. The red-head moved towards the light switch.

"But it hurts! And why are you here? I didn't expect you to return till Saturday! And I'm going on a date with Inoue a day after tomorrow, so don't you think you can just take your body back!"

Ichigo groaned. "Shut up for once. You can go on that stupid date, just shut up!"

Mistrustfully, Kon muttered something under his breath then his mood suddenly brightened at the feel of an unfamiliar energy. "You brought someone with you! Is she hot?"

"Yeah, totally," Ichigo said, annoyed. He reached out to switch on the lights, "take a look."

All of them blinked when the bright light hit their eyes. Still sitting in the bed, Kon rubbed at his eyes and took a very careful look at the person next to Ichigo.

"Why is there a horn on his head?" Kon asked, at the same time imitating the green lines under Ulquiorra's eyes on his own cheeks. "The hell? Did you just bring an Arrancar here?"

"Yeah," Ichigo confirmed with a nod. "It's a long story," he added when Kon gave him a look that was clearly indicating that the Modified Soul believed that he had gone mad. "Don't tell about him to anyone." He pointed his hand at Kon. "This is Kon. And this is Ulquiorra."

The Arrancar's sleepy eyes set on Kon without much interest. "Is it a Modified Soul inside?"

Ichigo nodded. He motioned for Kon to get out of the bed. His body gave him a displeased look but climbed out of it.

"He can't hear anything," Ichigo informed Kon, seating the Arrancar on the bed. "And, as you can see, isn't in the best of shapes."

"Ah, so you're going to nurse him back to health so he can kill us all," Kon summed up.

Ichigo felt a headache forming. "Can you leave it alone for now? I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I'm not in the best of moods to argue now. I'll explain it all tomorrow."

Kon scowled at him but stayed quiet. He watched Ichigo opening the package that the Arrancar had been holding in his hands previously. He saw the red-head give the contents a confused look, and, curious he approached them. There was food inside: sandwiches, a few steaks, baked potatoes and a bottle of water. Ichigo raised his head to stare at the quiet Arrancar and, even though it didn't seem it was possible, he appeared to be even more confused.

"How in the world is he supposed to eat that?" Ichigo muttered. "Won't everything just fall out through that hole in his chest? Do we have a duct tape?"

Dumbstruck, Kon stared at him for a few seconds then his face turned into one huge grin. "The bottom drawer." This wasn't so bad after all! He watched Ichigo put the box on the desk and start rummaging through the lowest drawer. Meanwhile, the Arrancar's eyes stayed glued to the box with food. Kon was waiting for him to attack it.

Nonplused, Ulquiorra blinked at the unrolled duct tape in Ichigo's hands. "What are you going to do with this?"

Ichigo motioned at the hole in his chest then at the box on the desk. Ulquiorra's eyebrows rose.

"You haven't met Hollows before?" he wondered.

"Well, of course, I have! I have just never fed one." Ichigo waved the tape in the air, eager to get to the task and be done with it.

Ulquiorra wondered shortly whether he should tell Ichigo that he was being an idiot then decided that both of them were too tired to care. The sooner they got over this, the sooner he would eat.

ooOoOoOoo

Ichigo blinked at the sunlight coming through the gap between the curtains. With a sigh, he rolled to his side and fell asleep again.

He completely woke up two hours later. A check on his wristband informed him that it was four in the afternoon. His eyes widening in alarm, he sat up in his futon and cast a quick glance at the bed. It was empty. He was alone in his room, not even Kon present. He scanned the house for familiar energy sources and was quickly rewarded with Ulquiorra's.

Ichigo rolled out of the futon and dressed hurriedly. He jogged downstairs, where he checked the clinic and the study. Finding no one there, he proceeded to the kitchen. Ulquiorra was sitting at the table, facing the door and his eyes fixed on Ichigo as soon as he had entered. For a few seconds, Ichigo could only stare at him in astonishment. The Shinigami robe was gone, just as was gone the duct tape from Ulquiorra's chest. He was wearing his usual Arrancar clothes: a white jacket, black sash and a white hakama. Then Ichigo's eyes travelled down, to the legs of the table where, against one of them, a greenish Zanpakuto was propped.

"You are well," Ichigo managed finally.

Ulquiorra turned his head a little, and Ichigo realized that he was still reading his lips.

"Yes, I am much better," the Arrancar said. He watched the red-head walk into the kitchen. Ichigo seemed to be somewhat uncertain, cautious. "Does it surprise you so much?"

"A little," Ichigo admitted. The box Kisuke had given them was on the table in front of Ulquiorra. It was almost empty now, only one sandwich left. It didn't look any worse than it had looked yesterday – it still seemed fresh.

Ulquiorra didn't say anything to that, his incredibly green eyes studying Ichigo instead. The red-head shifted under that gaze and decided he wouldn't mind a cup of tea. He went to check the kettle, poured some water into it and set it to boil. He opened the fridge to check the contents and found a wrapped up plate with a note from Yuzu. He pulled it out and set it to microwave.

"Where's everyone?" Ichigo asked, still mostly in the fridge, looking for more food. "Ah," he said, remembering Ulquiorra couldn't hear him. He pulled away from the fridge to look at the Arrancar. "Wh-" the rest of the words stuck in his throat as he found himself staring at the emerald eyes right in front of him. His hand was still raised in the air, frozen in an illustrating motion.

"So this is your Human body?" Ulquiorra drawled, his fingers touching Ichigo's shoulder with interest.

"Where's Kon?" Ichigo asked, his apprehension growing tenfold. Tentatively, he pushed at the Arrancar blocking his way, but the pale body didn't even budge. He suddenly found himself effectively trapped between the sideboard and the wall. The kettle started whistling, a low keening sound filling the kitchen.

"You mean that annoying plushy thing?"

"What did you do to him?" Ichigo demanded, now shoving at the Arrancar's chest with much more force to make him retreat. He grunted as his wrist was caught easily by a pale hand. The thin fingers around his wrist closed with crushing force. The red-head started at a loud ping emitted by the microwave, indicating that his food was done. He tried to free his hand but the Arrancar didn't let go.

"I bet now you are regretting having returned to your body," Ulquiorra remarked drily.

Frantically, Ichigo's eyes scanned the kitchen but he couldn't see Kon anywhere. His Substitute Shinigami Badge was on the second floor. There was a knife rack on the cabinet next to him but it was absolutely useless against a Hollow. He struggled again, trying to free himself, kicked out but Ulquiorra didn't even take heed of his attempts.

"Where are my sisters?" Ichigo hissed.

The Arrancar offered him an apathetic look. He lifted Ichigo's arm, noting how the red-head's eyes were growing bigger and bigger in alarm. Then, with his left hand, Ichigo tried to pull out Ulquiorra's Zanpakuto from under his sash. The younger man grunted in pain when Ulquiorra's fingers closed around his other wrist. The Arrancar's green eyes kept examining his face then he suddenly freed Ichigo's hands and moved out of the way.

Massaging his reddish wrists, Ichigo watched the other man without ever moving. Ulquiorra turned around and returned to sit at the table. He reached into the box to retrieve the last sandwich. His heart still hammering in his throat, Ichigo watched him eat.

"It is made of spirit particles," Ulquiorra said. "As soon as I swallow, it dissolves and is absorbed into my body. The only common thing this has with Human food is the appearance. You worried needlessly."

"Where's Kon?"

"It was being very noisy, so I put it into the blue box in the bathroom."

"My sisters?"

"At school probably."

Ichigo turned to the kettle, switched it off and finally ended the low complaining noise. Then he took out the plate from the microwave and lowered it on the cabinet. Half-expecting the Arrancar appear next to him again, he turned around. His hands were still trembling lightly and he rested them on the sideboard top. He lowered his head and willed his shoulders to relax. He had been crazy to have brought the Arrancar home.

"Not eating?"

Ichigo raised his head to glare at him. "I've lost my appetite."

Nothing changed on Ulquiorra's face and Ichigo thought that he probably hadn't understood him. Cursing under his breath, the red-head pushed himself away from the sideboard and went to the bathroom to search for Kon. At once, his attention was drawn to the blue laundry box in the corner. It was shaking and vibrating violently. Freeing the lid, Ichigo peeled the duct tape off and opened it. Kon shot out of it with the speed of light. As soon as he landed on the tiles, one of his legs pointed at his mouth indignantly. Ichigo peeled the tape off his mouth and instantly regretted as curses and complaints filled the bathroom.

"Untie me!" Kon demanded, turning around, showing the red-head his tied paws.

Ichigo removed the tape and reached out for the adornment on Kon's head but the Modified Soul shot out of the bathroom and galloped toward the kitchen. Ichigo ran after him.

"How dare you do that to me?!" Kon shouted at the Arrancar. "Do you even know how Ichigo's socks stink? And this body is so fragile!" he screamed, his stuffed paw pointing at an old patch on his chest. "It hurt like a bitch! Look at how you damaged the fabric! Where is this thread coming from? Look! The cotton is falling out!"

"You have women's underwear on your head," Ulquiorra informed him helpfully.

With an enraged roar, Kon charged at the Arrancar. Ichigo stepped forward, trying to catch him but the Modified Soul was already airborne. Then everything happened so fast that Ichigo froze on the spot: one moment Kon was flying at Ulquiorra then he was snatched out of the air and found himself sailing through the open kitchen window. Ulquiorra closed the window even before Kon could hit the asphalt outside and returned to the table to finish his sandwich.

Ichigo heaved a groan of despair and went back to the bathroom to relieve himself of a few days' worth stress. After that, he returned to the kitchen, made himself some tea, grabbed the now cold plate and, completely ignoring Kon's threats and demands in the garden, seated himself in front of Ulquiorra.

TBC


	3. Part 3

**solarserpent**: It is really not an easy task to keep them in character. I'm not doing that very well, but, hopefully, it won't get out of hand too much. Their personalities is what mostly makes the story.

**Guest**: Well, Kon is a comic relief whether in the anime/manga or this fanfic, so there will be more scenes like that with him. Considering your wish Ichigo to be a seme, I must remind you about the warnings atop every chapter. I never squeeze my characters into one or another clichéd preference.

**Arty**: I hope to make you laugh some more ^_^

**Karin F. Nekoi**: It is not easy to find a good beta. I have both good and bad experience with them, I'd say mostly good, probably. Well, hopefully, someone appears and decides to help me out. Thank you very much for your support ^_^

**Mrs. Passionate**: I don't think I've ever read Ichigo x Ulquiorra either. 5-6 years ago I have read a few pieces of Ichigo x Ishida fanfiction, but years pass and preferences change, and I found out that I, instead, was much more interested in making Ulquiorra x Ichigo work. We'll see how this works out XD

**Blu**: Thank you, I hope you'll like this chapter as well :)

xxxx

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach – it belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I am not making any money from writing it.

Warnings:

1. Yaoi (male x male). Ulquiorra x Ichigo and vice versa. Other pairings?

2. Ichigo – almost 19 years old; Ulquiorra – probably a few hundred as a Hollow and about a decade or so as an Arrancar?

3. Post anime (haven't read the manga).

4. Alternate Universe.

5. I'm not a native speaker, thus expect various language oddities.

6. I'm not very familiar with all the details in the anime, and I am also new to _Bleach_ fandom, so I will be straying away from the canon quite frequently. I do my research but _Bleach_ is a vast universe that is not so easy to grasp. I must admit, though, that there are also things in the anime that don't make sense to me and I take the liberty of recreating certain parts of this universe as I see fit.

7. Looking for a beta-reader for this fanfic. You must be a native speaker and at least better at English grammar than I am. Please write me an email if you're interested.

**The Heart in My Hand **

by chayron (lttomb yahoo com)

Part 3

From across the table Ulquiorra was watching Ichigo enjoying his cold pancakes. He glanced at Urahara's box on the table but it was empty, not even a crumb left. He was still famished, though.

"Not getting out of your body?" Ulquiorra asked Ichigo casually.

Ichigo stopped chewing and raised his eyes to him. "Should I?" he snorted while pointing at Ulquiorra with the pancake in his hand. "I don't think you'll like it when I do."

Ulquiorra couldn't understand everything the red-head had said. He, however, was good at interpreting. For some strange reason he felt pleased by the threat. Amused, Ulquiorra tapped the side of the empty box with his fingers.

"So what are you?" he demanded. "You are certainly a Human, but you are also a Vasto Lorde. This should be impossible."

Looking at him, the red-head pursed his glistening with fat lips. It was only natural that Ulquiorra wanted to know but this was a conversation he didn't want to have. Not now at least.

"It's a bit complicated. Let's talk about this when you can finally hear," Ichigo said, showing at his ears.

Ulquiorra looked around the kitchen, and Ichigo realized that he was searching for paper. Sipping his tea, the red-head watched him leave the kitchen. A few moments later the Arrancar returned with a notebook and a pen that Ichigo recognized as his own. He lowered them on the table in front of Ichigo and demandingly pointed in the middle of the notebook with his finger.

"Tell me."

Unhurriedly, almost demonstratively, Ichigo finished the last drops of his tea, lowered the cup and took the pen in his hand. In fact, he had expected Ulquiorra to be much more interested in knowing where Aizen was and what had happened to him. Unless he already knew. Ichigo stared at the blank paper then, with a resigned sigh, started writing. Seconds later he tore the page out and passed it to Ulquiorra.

"Human, Quincy, Shinigami, Fullbring, Hollow," the Arrancar read aloud. He looked at Ichigo. "Are you telling me to pick one?" he asked crumpling the paper up in his fist, not in the mood for games. He was considering smacking that weak Human body of Ichigo's around.

Ichigo shook his head. He pointed at the paper then at himself. "All of that," he said slowly. The red-head wasn't certain he could still call himself a Fullbring, but he felt he still retained a fraction of that power as well. That, without doubt, counted for something.

The Arrancar gave him a look where astonishment and doubt mixed. "Aren't you a handful?" he said finally.

"Tell me about it," Ichigo muttered with a roll of his eyes. He could see that, even if skeptical, Ulquiorra did believe him – there was no reason for him to lie.

"Will you tell me how this is possible?" the Arrancar asked.

"Maybe later," Ichigo said. He wasn't particularly interested in sharing this kind of personal information with an Arrancar he barely knew, someone who was a potential enemy.

Ulquiorra didn't understand his answer and Ichigo wrote this down on the notebook. Ulquiorra read the words, wanted to ask how much "later" that would be but then decided that he wouldn't get a clear answer anyway and conceded to not voicing his question.

"What happened to Aizen? Did you kill him?"

Ah, so he didn't know after all. Ichigo shook his head. "No. I didn't actually manage to do anything to him." With a sigh, he took the notebook and started writing down the whole story starting with Aizen absorbing the Hogyoku and finishing with his extremely long imprisonment sentence. He wasn't certain it was very wise to do so, but sooner or later Ulquiorra would find out on his own. He wanted to see the Arrancar's reaction to the information.

"What will you do now?" Ichigo asked when Ulquiorra just sat quietly, absorbing the words he had just finished reading. Ichigo couldn't understand whether he was sad, disappointed or didn't care. The expression on the Arrancar's face was that of thoughtfulness.

Ulquiorra regarded him with his green eyes. At first, it didn't seem that he understood what Ichigo had said but then the red-head saw him shake his head lightly.

"You want to know whether I will or not attempt to free him?"

"I really doubt you would be able to do that, but, yes," Ichigo said, nodding. "I want to know if you'd do it if an opportunity arose." The Arrancar was giving him a confused look and Ichigo groaned mentally. He reached out for the notebook.

"I will not," Ulquiorra said, passing him the notebook. "I consider my debt paid. None of that concerns me anymore."

Ichigo tapped on the notebook with the pen then continued to twirl it around in his fingers. He wondered if that was true. Ulquiorra did die following Aizen's orders, paid whatever debt he was talking about with his life and one would consider that part of his existence over. Was it really this way, though? He doubted that. He had the impression that Ulquiorra was more loyal to Aizen than that.

"What about Gin?"

For not being concerned about it anymore, Ulquiorra was giving quite many questions. Ichigo sighed again and started scribbling down into the notebook.

"That was foolish," the Arrancar commented after he had read Ichigo's story. "Why did he wait for Aizen to absorb Hogyoku?"

Ichigo shrugged. He had asked himself the same question and hadn't been able to come up with an answer. "He must have had his reasons," he said. He noticed that the news of Gin's death disappointed Ulquiorra, and, to his surprise, Ichigo realized that the Arrancar must have liked the former captain. Maybe it hadn't exactly been that, maybe he had just piqued Ulquiorra's curiosity but still, this was surprising.

"What are you going to do with me?"

The red-head shrugged again. He didn't know. He was already going against Soul Society by hiding someone who was considered a dangerous fugitive. In addition, Ulquiorra was someone who had aided Aizen in his destructive plans. "I suppose it depends on what your intentions are," he said finally. He wrote this down and showed to Ulquiorra.

"I want to return to Hueco Mundo."

Ichigo scratched the back of his head in frustration. "You can't do that. Mayuri is probably already looking for you there; you will get caught in no time. Besides, you need to regain your strength first."

Ulquiorra did know that. "I…"

Voices wafted from outside the house and Ichigo turned to the window, Ulquiorra following his gaze. In a few moments Ichigo heard a key turn in the lock and the voices and his sisters' laughter became much stronger.

"They are back," Ichigo said. He glared at Ulquiorra, who was giving him an amused look.

"Were you still thinking I did something to them?" the Arrancar wondered. "They are just kids. Humans."

"Trash by your standards, you mean?" Ichigo grunted, irritated.

Ulquiorra didn't understand but he wasn't in the mood of explaining. He was frantically thinking if he should tell the Arrancar to go and hide in his room. How long would he hide Ulquiorra, though? For a week? Two? It was impossible for him to stay unnoticed in any case.

Ichigo was still half-way decided when his sisters entered the kitchen. Ichigo's body twitching with apprehension, he waited for their reaction.

"Good afternoon," Yuzu greeted loudly while heading to the right for the fridge. She was carrying a heavy shopping bag.

"Hi," Ichigo muttered.

Ulquiorra was quiet for a few seconds then nodded in answer.

"He can't hear you even if you yell," Karin said following her sister with two more bags in her hands. "Just make sure he can see your mouth." She turned to Ulquiorra and, motioning at him with her hand, asked, "How are you? You look much better already."

The Arrancar nodded. "I feel much better."

Ichigo looked from one to another. "I gather you've met each other already?"

"What are you talking about?" Karin snorted. "Of course, we have. We had breakfast together."

"Oooh?" Ichigo drawled, glad that he had already finished his tea or he'd have choked on it. "Was dad there too?"

"No, he wasn't. He's left for that seminar he's been talking for ages about."

"Oh, right, I forgot. When is he co-?" The end of the sentence never left Ichigo's mouth because suddenly Kon tore into the kitchen. His sisters must have forgotten to lock the door.

"How dare you!" Kon spat, rushing straight toward Ulquiorra.

After turning to the Arrancar, Ichigo realized that Ulquiorra looked quite annoyed. It was very likely that he was contemplating launching a Cero at the Modified Soul. Ichigo raised his hands in an attempt to calm everyone down.

"Now, this is not how…"

"Are those my panties on your head?"

The voice was low and beyond the limit of dangerous. Ichigo turned to Karin. He saw her grab a frying pan right off the stove. He considered stopping her, but only considered. She was his little sister, and it was her panties on Kon's head. At the moment, she could tear him to pieces for all he cared.

"Wait!" Kon shouted. "Wait, wait! This is not how it looks. They just slipped onto my head accidentally. I swear!"

"Yeah, sure! They climbed there on their own, you pervert!"

With an outraged cry, Karin charged at Kon, who was still groping around his head, trying to pull off the panties. They didn't even budge, he only managing to shoot himself in the eye with the waistband. Howling in pain, he scurried out of the kitchen with Karin in tow. A series of crashes, thumps, and bumps followed.

"It is very lively here," Ulquiorra noted at the vibrations of something shattering in the corridor.

"We should get a cat," Yuzu said while filling the fridge. "I've always wanted a cat. They are also quieter."

ooOoOoOoo

It was Kisuke who opened the door for them and Ichigo noticed his eyes going wide at the sight of Ulquiorra.

"Yeah, I know," the red-head said, pushing the empty food box into the former captain's hands.

Kisuke moved aside letting them pass. His eyes followed the Arrancar, who nodded to acknowledge him but otherwise seemed apathetic. He could hardly believe that the Arrancar already had enough power to summon his casual clothes and even had some residual energy to store it in his Zanpakuto. Despite the fact that he had probably never done this before, it seemed that it did come naturally to him.

Once inside, Ichigo and Ulquiorra followed Kisuke to the living room. They stopped at the doorway not certain how to proceed.

"Ah, sorry about the mess," Kisuke said, kicking some of the papers out of their way.

Following a narrow path among various documents and drawings, they finally reached the table. Motioning for them to sit down, with a promise for tea, Kisuke turned around intending to head to the kitchen.

"Hey," Ichigo called Ulquiorra, who, his hands in his pockets, started walking towards the opposite door. "Where are you going? Hey!" He started getting up, about to catch Ulquiorra by his sleeve. Kisuke's hand, however, landed on his first, preventing the red-head from standing up.

"He can't hear you. Let him look around – it's a new territory for him."

Ichigo snorted. "What is he? A dog?"

Kisuke chuckled. Then he noticed red marks on Ichigo's wrists and his eyes turned hard. "Did he try something?"

Noticing what had made the former captain's voice sound so low and dangerous, Ichigo shook his head and folded his hands under the table, out of Kisuke's sight. "No, he was just curious about how strong my real body is. I think he didn't actually expect it to be so weak."

"Why are you in your body at all? You trust him so much?"

That was more of a statement than a question but Ichigo found that he could neither deny nor confirm it. "I can't really say," he admitted. "Well, I'm more inclined to trust him, but… Currently I'm making a point. He can be quite difficult."

"Making what point?" the former captain wondered. "By doing what?"

"By staying in my body."

For a moment, Kisuke looked vey amused. Then his usual fan appeared in his hand and he started fanning himself absently. To his mind, Ichigo was rather looking for certain death than making a point. Surprisingly, this kind of thinking had always worked out in Ichigo's favor.

Kisuke decided to use Ulquiorra's absence and sat down next to the red-head. "There's this thing," he started. "He belonged to Espada, right? You said he was number four, right?" he asked again when Ichigo nodded. "All of them had their number tattooed on some part of their body, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"He doesn't have one."

Ichigo stared at him. How could he have missed this? He had seen the Arrancar naked twice and hadn't found anything odd about him but now when he thought about it, he really hadn't seen the number.

"You said you saw him die. And it is not possible to resurrect a Hollow or Shinigami after their death. He's probably a clone, Ichigo."

"A clone?" Ichigo repeated numbly. "But he remembers everything… And he… Are you sure?"

"Memory works a little differently with Hollows and actually even most Pluses. It's their entire body that can collect memories. The sense of touch, temperature, likes, dislikes, sadness, sorrow, longing and so on. They don't need a brain to store that."

Ichigo shook his head. "He remembers much more than that."

"Does he?"

"Yes."

"Interesting," Kisuke mused.

"Does he know?" Ichigo asked. "Does he actually realize that he's a clone?"

The former captain shrugged. "I don't know. He might and he might not. Depends on how Mayuri has gone about it and what has actually been done to him."

Thinking, Ichigo put his hands back on the table. He tapped his fingers on the smooth wooden surface. "Should we actually tell him if he doesn't know?"

"Maybe not at once," Kisuke said. "And I don't know that for a fact. He needs to recover first. This kind of information can make anyone unstable. Let him get used to his surroundings as well."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "He's getting used to them alright," he said, pointing in the direction the Arrancar had wandered off. The red-head doubted the news would have a big impact on Ulquiorra, though. The Arrancar didn't seem to be bothered by these kinds of things and, since he wasn't able to do anything about it, he would just accept it. That was what he believed at least.

"Concerning…"

Both of them started at a sudden scream. It came again at once and their eyes shot to the ceiling where the cry had travelled from. The red-head grabbed his Substitute Shinigami Badge and was soon jumping through the door, his listless body folding over onto the ground behind him. A loud crash came from above, followed by a few more screams.

He flew up the stairs and jumped in the middle of what seemed to be a fight further down the corridor. He was just in time to block Jinta's kanabo before it could flatten Ulquiorra to the wall for the second time. Shoving the Arrancar behind his back, he pushed the kanabo away with his Zanpakuto.

"What happened?" Kisuke asked, just a few steps behind Ichigo, his hand ready on the hilt of Benihime. The scene in front of him was quite confusing: Ururu was half-naked, wrapped in a towel, her hair dripping wet; Jinta was beside himself with fury, still struggling against Ichigo's Zanpakuto; Ulquiorra seemed to be dazed and was having a hard time maintaining his energy level – his clothes were flickering and his Zanpakuto was already gone.

"Let me at him!" Jinta hissed, trying to push Ichigo out of his way.

"I was having a shower and he suddenly…" Ururu started explaining.

Ichigo groaned in disbelief. "For gods' sakes…. Didn't you knock?" Remembering that Ulquiorra wasn't able to hear him, he turned his head. Then he realized the absurdity of his question and closed his mouth. He turned back to Ururu. "He can't hear anything. Even if you told him not to enter, he wasn't able to hear that."

"You just let me at him!" Jinta growled, swinging his kanabo again. "Hearing will be the least of his problems!"

Kisuke walked over to the bathroom and took a closer look at the door. "He tore the hook off. Seems Arrancars are quite the voyeurs…" he said with a grin, his hand letting go of Benihime and searching for his fan instead. He doubted Ulquiorra had even noticed the hook, and if he had, he probably just pushed harder just to see what was behind it that needed locking. He averted his gaze to the Arrancar behind Ichigo's back. Ulquiorra was leaning against the wall, giving Ichigo's back a quite angry look.

"So I found a bathroom," the Arrancar stated, half-amused and half-annoyed.

Ichigo didn't turn around, just nodded.

"Well done," Kisuke complimented him with a grin. He grinned brighter when Ulquiorra glowered at him.

Past Ichigo's shoulder, Ulquiorra looked at Jinta. He had hardly entered the bathroom as he had been grabbed and flung out of it and then that enormous kanabo smashed into him. He could have tried and defended himself but this was not the first time he had seen the boy. Ichigo's and Urahara's reactions to him attacking the boy were easy to predict. He would have been dead already. And he didn't exactly want to be dead anymore.

"Jinta, move your kanabo away. Ururu, go and dress," Kisuke said. The soft tapping of bare feet against the wooden floor that immediately followed his orders sounded somehow soothing to his ears. Then he turned to Jinta. "Well?"

With a displeased grunt, Jinta lowered his kanabo. "I still don't like him!" he snorted.

"Jinta, he's a Hollow – nobody likes him," Kisuke comforted him. He chuckled at the look Ichigo gave him. "Except for Ichigo," he corrected himself. "Ichigo likes troublesome characters, right?" He opened his mouth again intending to tease the red-head more but the chime on the front door indicated that someone entered the shop. Kisuke turned to Jinta and motioned with his head at the stairs. "Take care of them."

"Yeah," Jinta said, turning to the stairs.

"Umm… Leave that here," Kisuke said when Jinta weighed his enormous kanabo in his hand then propped it against his shoulder. "Don't scare customers off."

With a loud clang, Jinta dropped his weapon and started descending the stairs. Kisuke turned to look at the hole in the wall: he could see Jinta's bed right through it. This was going to take time to fix. He sighed then turned to Ichigo and Ulquiorra. Ichigo had finally sheathed his Zanpakuto as well. Ulquiorra didn't seem to be well, and, not certain what to do, the red-head was giving the Arrancar a questioning look. The Arrancar's clothes had stopped flickering, though, and had acquired a more tangible look to them again. There was an aura of chaffed and splintered plaster around Ulquiorra's form. Some of the plaster had fallen off. Ulquiorra moved away from the wall, and there was a sudden rain of white plaster. Kisuke had to resist an urge to groan: there were bare planks behind the Arrancar.

"I can't believe you broke into the bathroom while she was having a shower," Ichigo muttered. "I thought this only happened in comedies."

"Or horror movies," Kisuke pointed out. "Or porn, maybe?"

Ichigo snickered. "What kind of porn have you been watching? No, stop, don't tell me. That was a rhetorical question."

Ulquiorra was still leaning against the wall, gathering his strength, when Ururu appeared from her room.

"Could you make us some tea, please?" Kisuke asked her. "We'll be in the living room shortly."

"Of course," she said with a nod.

When they finally descended downstairs, with Ichigo supporting the Arrancar, the tea was already done, waiting for them on the table. At once, Ichigo returned into his sprawled body, arranged his limbs into a more natural position and poured himself a cup. Ulquiorra watched him with interest and some kind of uncertain amusement on his face then turned to look at the teapot. It didn't interest him much and he turned away without touching it. He took a few documents off the floor and started reading.

From across the table, Kisuke watched the two thoughtfully. Whatever had happened between the two and whatever statement Ichigo had been talking about, this was taking it too far. Ichigo had to be more careful around the Arrancar; staying in his body all the time was just asking for trouble.

"So he got better only outwardly," Ichigo summed up the latest experience. "His power is still nowhere near what it was." Still, it had been enough to scare him back then in the kitchen. Ichigo grunted and took a sip of his hot tea.

"Keeping in mind what has been done to him, he's recovering at a stunning speed," Kisuke said, pouring himself a cup as well. "I just have one question – where is the Shinigami robe he had on previously?"

"Huh? He put it in the laundry box. Why? Is it important?"

"Laundry box? Really? It's not his?"

Ichigo gave Kisuke a confused look. "Of course not. He's obviously stolen it from someone. I mean, it can't be his. He's… Can it?"

"Well, next time you come over, bring it with you."

Ichigo nodded. He felt a stare and turned his head to see Ulquiorra giving him an accusing look. The Arrancar couldn't follow the conversation and was displeased. There wasn't much Ichigo could do for him, though.

"Umm… The Shinigami robe," Ichigo asked him. "Is it yours?" Ulquiorra stared at his mouth and Ichigo wasn't certain whether it was because he couldn't understand or could but just couldn't believe that he had just been asked that. The red-head felt stupid for even considering that.

"What?"

"Ugh… Give me something to write on," Ichigo asked Kisuke.

"Of course it is not," Ulquiorra denied as soon as he had read the words. "How did you even come up with the idea? I am not a Shinigami."

Ichigo turned to Kisuke. "See? Not his. And yeah, how did you even come up with the idea?"

"Well, I've received quite interesting results," Kisuke said with a motion at the wall behind which there was the apparatus they had run Ulquiorra through. "But if it's not his, then it doesn't matter. So did you find out anything from him?"

"It went the other way actually," Ichigo admitted, embarrassed. "It was me answering questions."

When Ichigo was summing up his and Ulquiorra's conversation in the kitchen, he was interrupted by a knock on the door and Ururu appeared with a tray. She walked to the table, set down two plates with cookies and a cake, then two smaller ones. Ichigo thanked and grabbed a cookie. It was fresh, crispy and smelled wonderful just like always. He loved Ururu's homemade cookies and cake.

"And what about you?" Ichigo asked when Ururu excused herself and left. He hummed around the cookie in pleasure. "Any interesting discoveries?"

"From what I've seen," Kisuke said, "Mayuri was mostly interested in his unique regeneration ability. Not many Hollows have it, and that of an Arrancar must be extraordinary. It actually is. It's amazing."

"Really?" Ichigo wondered. "Well, yeah, I've seen him regenerate his limbs in no time." He flinched. "Ugh, that's where that blood on his body came from?"

For a moment, Kisuke wondered how much Ichigo really wanted to know. Then he decided that the red-head could handle it. "Yes, mostly," he agreed. "There are also small parts of his internal organs missing. The problem with his hearing and eyesight is due to Mayuri having cut off the nerves leading to his eyes and ears. It was either done with the purpose of the research or just to keep his senses dulled or maybe both. There might have been more done to him but by this time his body has mostly healed already, so I wouldn't know. And…" he fell silent since Ichigo looked as if he could throw up at any moment. The half-eaten cookie was suspended in the air in front of Ichigo's mouth.

"Don't worry, he's mostly fine already," Kisuke said. "In a few days, a week at most, he should also be able to hear. His eyesight is already mostly back to normal. He…" he fell silent again. "Ichigo?"

"Yeah?" the red-head asked, still looking as if he was about to get sick.

"Get out of your body. Now."

"Huh… What? Why?" He followed Kisuke's gaze to his right and met two green unblinking eyes. They were cold as ice, hungry, and vicious. That was the look of a Hollow about to devour a soul. Ichigo stared back at Ulquiorra as if transfixed, seconds turning into minutes.

"Get out of your body now!" Kisuke hissed again. Ichigo didn't show any intention to move and his hand traveled to Benihime's hilt. Ulquiorra could easily snap the red-head's neck at any given moment. Sucking his trapped soul out was only a matter of a few seconds.

Ichigo wasn't certain whether he was more afraid or angry. Here he had been feeling sorry for Ulquiorra only moments ago and suddenly he was about to get eaten by the bastard! This was absurd!

"Oh, shi-" Kisuke grunted when Ichigo punched the Arrancar in the face. He watched the Arrancar blink at the red-head. The punch hadn't even scratched him.

"Are you serious?" Ulquiorra muttered. He touched his face then looked at Ichigo again. He seemed to be quite surprised. At what exactly, Kisuke didn't know. It might have been himself experiencing a sudden craving for a soul, or Ichigo punching him with that weak Human body of his, or both.

The hungry feral look was gone from the Arrancar's eyes and Kisuke removed his hand from Benihime. Really, a Hollow was a Hollow after all, and the hungrier it was, the more dangerous it was.

"Kisuke," Ichigo said. "Tell me again how completely safe it is to keep him at my house."

TBC


	4. Part 4

**dreamscometrue**: I'm glad you do :)

**negimarules**: This chapter is less funny, it's more about background and revelations.

**Blu**: haha, yeah, me and my betas is a never ending story XD I'm always looking for one. I have been very lucky with a few of them, just how lucky I am now with quatreofdoom who works on _Barracks_.

Well, probably the problem with native speakers is that they think they know it all and don't give a damn about things like "your" or "you're". I, however, know that I know nothing, haha So I at least put some effort into differentiating between "bath" and "bathe" or "he's" and "his" XD

Kisuke is somehow easy to write. He's witty, he's funny, he's cunning and smart and somehow it flows. Ulquiorra and Ichigo are a pain in the butt, though.

**falsedfaith691**: thank you :)

xxxx

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach – it belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I am not making any money from writing it.

Warnings:

1. Yaoi (male x male). Ulquiorra x Ichigo and vice versa. Other pairings?

2. Ichigo – almost 19 years old; Ulquiorra – probably a few hundred as a Hollow and about a decade or so as an Arrancar?

3. Post anime (haven't read the manga).

4. Alternate Universe.

5. I'm not a native speaker, thus expect various language oddities.

6. I'm not very familiar with all the details in the anime, and I am also new to _Bleach_ fandom, so I will be straying away from the canon quite frequently. I do my research but _Bleach_ is a vast universe that is not so easy to grasp. I must admit, though, that there are also things in the anime that don't make sense to me and I take the liberty of recreating certain parts of this universe as I see fit.

7. **Looking for a beta-reader for this fanfic.** You must be a native speaker and at least better at English grammar than I am. Please write me an email if you're interested.

**The Heart in My Hand **

by chayron (lttomb yahoo com)

Part 4

It was quiet in the living room only an occasional shift of uncomfortable bodies heard. Absently, Ichigo was twirling a cookie between his fingers, the crumbs falling on the table unheeded.

"I wouldn't have eaten your soul."

Ichigo turned to Ulquiorra. "Well, of course you wouldn't have." He pointed at Kisuke sitting across the table. "He'd have lopped your head off first." The Arrancar didn't understand him, and Ichigo helpfully illustrated by pointing at Ulquiorra then at the former captain and then again at Ulquiorra then drew his index finger over his neck, making his eyes roll back.

Kisuke was watching them with something akin to amazement. "You've got a nice communication going there."

"Oh, shut up. He almost ate me."

"Well, I'd say 'almost' is the keyword here. Why don't you just leave your body finally?" the former captain suggested.

"I won't give him the satisfaction!"

"I don't think he cares," Kisuke said, standing up. Through the narrow path amongst the papers on the floor, he reached the door and disappeared behind it.

Ichigo and Ulquiorra looked at each other questioningly then, with a demonstrative snort, Ichigo turned away.

"What are you? A kid?" Ulquiorra muttered.

"You just tried to eat me. And to think I am helping you out. I'm an idiot. I'm a total idiot! And what if you go to the street and…"

Ulquiorra watched Ichigo's non-stop moving mouth, but didn't ask to repeat or explain. It was obvious that he was ranting, venting his frustrations. He had a good reason to. He really had been about to attack Ichigo. It wasn't so surprising either. He was famished and, meanwhile, Ichigo's soul was exuding the most delicious aroma ever. At some point, it had just become pure instinct. A stupid, fearless, and reckless instinct which had nearly got him killed by Urahara. He hadn't felt like that for a good decade, not since he had been turned into an Arrancar. This was disturbing.

Ulquiorra looked around the room. He'd had enough time to explore it earlier while Ichigo and Urahara had been talking, but now he needed something to distract himself. He couldn't believe Urahara had left him and Ichigo alone after he had nearly… And Ichigo was still in his body. The red-head was the incarnation of stubbornness. It was also bordering on stupidity already. Last time they fought, Ichigo had asked him to chop his limbs off to make the matters more equal between them. Was that stubbornness or stupidity? Or just stupid stubbornness? Ichigo, however, smelled delicious no matter how stupid or stubborn he was. The taste must be extraordinary. The red-head was probably followed by Hollows day and night. There must be many who had tried to…

Startled, Ulquiorra turned to the door when it opened. Kisuke was carrying two lunch boxes. He picked his way through the documents then set the boxes on the table in front of the Arrancar.

"I'm sorry for being a bad host," he apologized to Ulquiorra.

The Arrancar stared at him, not certain what had been said then looked at the boxes.

"I should have told you," he said finally, taking one box into his hands and taking the lid off.

Ulquiorra had manners, Kisuke had to give him that. No matter how starved he was, he didn't start gobbling the food at once. Carefully, he picked a sandwich from the box and started eating. Watching him, Kisuke felt he could understand why Ichigo had decided to reach out to this creature.

"When he finishes the box, come for more," Kisuke told Ichigo. He pulled out his fan from his pocket. "It's best that he doesn't go around hungry," he said thoughtfully, fanning himself.

Ichigo snorted. "Yeah, tell me about it."

"Well, such is a Hollow's nature."

"Yeah, the top of a food chain."

The red-head was quite right, and the former captain hid his grin behind the fan. "But so are you," he said softly. Ichigo glared at him and Kisuke chuckled. "He'll be fine when he gets stronger. I doubt this will happen again. His body is regenerating, even restructuring itself in some cases so that's why he needs so much food at the moment."

Wordlessly, Ichigo watched Ulquiorra annihilate the contents of the box with unconcealed appetite. The red-head stuck the rest of the cookie inside his mouth and took his tea to wash it down. He reached out for the cake. The Arrancar had told neither of them that he was hungry, and meanwhile he had been gobbling down cookies. This was somehow…

"Just don't think of giving him any of the usual food. Then it will really fall through that hole of his. But I'm sure he won't touch it anyway."

Ichigo turned to Kisuke. "Kon told you?"

"Yeah, he couldn't stop laughing."

"Well, how was I supposed to know?"

With his head, Kisuke motioned at Ulquiorra. "Why didn't he tell you?"

Ichigo shoveled more cake into his mouth. "I think he found it funny. Or silly. Or maybe just wanted to see how far I'd go. He likes testing people."

"Testing for what?" Kisuke wondered.

"Hmm…even if you ask me, I'm not sure. For some certain reactions?"

Quietly, they watched the Arrancar eating. Spirit particles in the form of sandwiches, chicken legs, pizza slices, croquets, everything disappeared in Ulquiorra's mouth.

"So he only needs to eat a lot and he'll be fine?" Ichigo asked just to be certain.

"Yes, no interference is needed. He will probably also sleep a lot."

Ichigo shook his head. "Not really. He got up even earlier than me."

"That was probably because he was hungry." Kisuke laughed at the expression of alarm on Ichigo's face. "Well, you're still alive," he comforted the red-head.

Ichigo opened his mouth then closed it; there was no point in commenting.

Ulquiorra finished the lunch box in about fifteen minutes. When it was obvious that he wasn't going to open the other one, Ichigo decided that it was time to go home; it was late evening already.

ooOoOoOoo

When Ulquiorra woke up it was half-light in the room. When he looked at the window, through the gap between the curtains, he saw that it was raining. It seemed that it was morning already. Ichigo was still in his futon, sleeping with his back turned to him. He could hear the red-head's soft, rhythmical breathing. It was warm in the room and Ichigo's upper back was bare, the cover pooling a little lower. And he smelled delicious.

That particular thought made Ulquiorra leave the bed and head to the kitchen for the second lunch box. He found it on the sideboard. He carried it over to the kitchen table, sat down, and started eating. The window was slightly ajar at the top and Ulquiorra could feel pleasant cool and damp air seeping from the outside. From time to time he would see people walk by further down the street, cars move past. It was probably quite noisy here only that he couldn't hear anything at all.

So this was how a former Shinigami Captain's living place looked. He wasn't certain if he was surprised or not. He was more surprised about him having had three children with a Human female. Since Ichigo was a half-breed, it was clear where his Shinigami powers came from. What was unclear was his ability to turn into a Vasto Lorde. This bothered Ulquiorra more than he would have liked.

He was also somewhat bothered by Isshin Kurosaki's impending return from wherever he had gone to. Just like Ichigo, the former captain wasn't known for violent nature but his reaction to an Arrancar staying at his house with his relatively defenseless children was hard to predict. Well, it had been Ichigo's idea anyway, and he hadn't done anything to hurt them.

Ulquiorra was almost done with the box when he felt vibrations along the floor. Waiting, he looked at the door but no one entered. He soon saw a car pull away from behind the bushes and speed away. He rose from the table with an intention to check the front door but at that moment one of Ichigo's sisters, Yuzu, entered the kitchen. She looked startled at the sight of him then smiled and greeted. He nodded in answer and, motioning at the window, gave her a questioning look.

Yuzu looked around then spotted the notebook on the kitchen table. It took her a few minutes to explain it to Ulquiorra that while her father was absent, the clinic didn't provide medical care. Instead, people were sent to the town hospital. After that, she went on to prepare breakfast.

Ulquiorra had already seen her prepare breakfast a day before. He guessed that she was always the first to rise in the morning. He watched Yuzu going through the fridge and bowls quickly. She soon fixed something up in a large bowl then turned both the stove and the kettle on. A tower of pancakes was rising steadily while, at the same time, she was packing lunch boxes, getting them ready for herself and her siblings.

Karin jogged into the kitchen nearly at the same time when her sister was done with the pancakes. She greeted them, grabbed a plate from sideboard, shoveled a few pancakes into it and plopped into the seat opposite Ulquiorra. Yuzu carried the jam and her tea to the table and put them in front of them. Ulquiorra shook his head and pushed them closer to Karin's plate. Ulquiorra pulled out a chicken leg out of the lunch box and, after receiving a few looks from the sisters, started eating. The same routine as yesterday.

Kon snuck into the kitchen when they were done eating. He gave Ulquiorra a ferocious glare, his plush mouth moved, and, despite the fact that Ulquiorra wasn't able to hear anything, he suddenly felt that it was very noisy in the kitchen.

"I'll put you back into the laundry box," Ulquiorra warned Kon when his mouth didn't stop moving for several minutes. That worked. The plush bear gave him one of the most annihilating looks he had ever seen but his mouth closed. The bear hopped into one of the free chairs at the table and sat there, pouting.

Soon the sisters left for school, leaving Ulquiorra and Kon in their own company. Kon didn't last long. With one last glare at the Arrancar, he jumped off the chair and scurried out of the kitchen. Regretfully, Ulquiorra tapped the side of his already empty lunch box. The food was a pain. He would have to think of something or he might really end up attacking Ichigo or one of his sisters.

The Arrancar left the empty lunch box on the table and walked closer to the window. He leaned on the windowsill to watch the rain. It had been at least a few hundred years, probably even more since he saw it last. He wished he could hear the sound it was making.

He wasn't certain how long he had been staring through the window when he felt vibrations along the floor and turned around to see Ichigo enter the kitchen. The red-head gave him a look then took note of the lunch box on the kitchen table, then looked back at him again. Ulquiorra thought that he appeared older wearing his Shinigami clothes.

"Not in your body today?" Ulquiorra wondered somewhat amused.

Ichigo yawned and scratched his stomach lazily. "Had to give it to Kon. He went on a date with Orihime. They went today since she got a call from her relatives and is supposed to…" The Arrancar kept staring at him and Ichigo stopped talking. He walked over to the table and took the notebook. He wrote his words down and showed to Ulquiorra. He was getting used to this.

"Oh," Ulquiorra said, his hands rising to his chest, "the girl with big…" Ulquiorra trailed off at the look Ichigo was giving him. "...feet?" he said, lowering his hands.

There was a pause then Ichigo started laughing. "Yeah, that's her," he said, "Orihime." Still grinning, he looked at the window. "The weather sucks for a date, though."

"So you lent it your body to meet a female," Ulquiorra drawled, as if summing something up.

The Arrancar didn't say a word more, but it was already enough to make Ichigo awkward since he knew perfectly well what Ulquiorra must be thinking. If the Arrancar knew the whole story, though, he'd probably say a lot more than that. He had already been hesitant about lending Kon his body. He still didn't quite understand why Orihime decided to go out with Kon. Or maybe he understood it very well, and that was the reason why recently he had been feeling awkward and guilty. Orihime and he had broken up about two years ago. They had been going out for about two months and everything was more or less fine, then everything just started going downhill and, after having lasted a couple more months, they broke up.

It had mostly been his fault. And now he didn't know how he had gotten himself into a situation like this, where Kon was using his body to go out with his ex-girlfriend. No matter how he looked at it, it was nonsensical and yet he couldn't bring himself to stop it. He knew Kon didn't mean harm, he was just silly and excited and would probably jump anything with breasts, but Orihime… How did it work for her?

"I see you've finished your lunch box," Ichigo said after a long, awkward pause. He pointed at the box.

"It is empty. I will need more," Ulquiorra said after he saw where Ichigo was pointing.

"We'll go to Urahara's Shop later," the red-head said with a nod. "First, there are some questions I want to ask you." Sitting down at the table, he mentioned for Ulquiorra to follow his lead. Interested, the Arrancar approached the table and sat down. Plagued by uncertainty of how he should start and how much he should say, Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. He had tried to sort his thoughts out beforehand but now they were chaotic again.

Ulquiorra watched the red-head scribbling into the notebook. Ichigo wanted to know how old he was. Ulquiorra wondered why that was relevant at all. He shrugged.

"It is quite difficult to follow the flow of years in Hueco Mundo, so can't really tell. Probably over a hundred. No, maybe two?"

Absently, Ichigo drew a circle on the notebook. Was this Ulquiorra really a clone? "Do you remember your life as a Human?"

Ulquiorra shook his head. "No, not at all."

Ichigo was a little disappointed. "I see…" he drawled. He wondered what life as a Hollow looked like. It was somehow difficult to grasp. Was there anything to grasp at all, though? They were vicious and cunning, trying to lure and catch their prey at any cost. That was nearly all they were capable to think of, and he usually just killed Hollows. There had been a few exceptions, but…

"What did you do as a Hollow?" Ichigo wrote down and regretted asking because now the Arrancar was giving him a long stare. Well, really, what could a Hollow do except hunt for souls and other Hollows? The silence stretched in the kitchen until it became nearly tangible and the red-head thought it was better to leave it and never come back to this question again.

"I was a tree," Ulquiorra said finally.

Ichigo blinked at him. "A tree..?" he asked again, confused. "How 'a tree'? How can you be a tree?" He frowned at Ulquiorra. "It's not really funny, you know."

Ulquiorra shrugged at Ichigo's confused and bewildered face. He realized that it was difficult to believe or understand, but Hueco Mundo was vastly different than the Human World. Things in Hueco Mundo could come into existence or out of it just based on raw emotions. It was a barren, dark and sandy place, a desert with a few rocks and trees. Due to its sheer immensity, however, it always appeared soothing. He liked it there. Most of those memories were blurry, all he could remember was melancholy and nostalgia, but he had been at peace.

"I converged with a tree."

"Ugh…" Ichigo hummed, shaking his head, lost. He waved his hands about. "Why? It's a tree! It can't walk, it can't talk!" Ulquiorra didn't seem to understand his bewilderment and Ichigo lowered his hands. "So what did you do as a tree?"

Now it was Ulquiorra who looked surprised. "We grew," he said in a self-explanatory manner as if talking to a child. "We grew roots and branches. We blossomed once. It was quiet, sometimes we listened, but mostly we just slept and grew."

Ichigo rubbed his forehead. Any other time, he would have probably found this funny, but now it was not funny at all. This talk was just giving him an eerie and creepy feeling. He found it hard to fathom, that kind of life – to do something like that on his own volition… What was more, Ulquiorra was nostalgic about that kind of life, he talked fondly of it. How bad things should be to make one want to spend their life as a tree?

"Why did you become a Hollow?" Ichigo asked even though he already knew the answer.

"I don't remember that, I just was. Why are you asking me all these questions?"

"Ahh…" Ichigo shifted in his chair awkwardly. "Well, I was just trying to get to the point of you appearing in the Soul Society, in Mayuri's lab."

Ulquiorra's eyebrows rose. "This is one long run-up."

The Arrancar looked amused and Ichigo snorted. "Yeah, well, I didn't know how else to do it."

Ulquiorra watched the red-head trying to cover up his awkwardness. Humans were strange. Ichigo was trying to be considerate, but considerate about what exactly?

"He got a part of my horn from Hueco Mundo and cloned me. I stayed for a while in his laboratory, maybe for a year or two. I was mostly unconscious, so I can't tell."

Ichigo stared at him. "Ah," he said finally. "I thought you might not know."

"How could I not know?"

Honest confusion was apparent on Ulquiorra's face and Ichigo realized that there must be even more things he didn't know about Hollows. Kisuke had told him about the peculiar memory capabilities of theirs, and how many other things he didn't know? Musing, the red-head turned his head to the window where the rain was pelting down. If someone had told him that one day he would be sitting with Ulquiorra in his home, at his kitchen table and having a conversation just like that…

Ulquiorra turned to the window which had lit up suddenly and Ichigo started in his seat at the booming sound. It was a flash of lightning and thunder. The Arrancar somehow knew this on subconscious level just as he knew what rain was even though it never rained in Hueco Mundo.

"Kurosaki will not be happy to find me here."

It took Ichigo a few moments to realize that Ulquiorra was talking about his father. That was true – he still didn't know how he was going to break down the news to his father. Besides, breaking down the news was one thing, the action his father would be taking was another. The red-head knew very well that he shouldn't have taken the Arrancar home but it was not that he could have left him there to be captured or killed either. That hadn't exactly been a spur of a moment. Ichigo knew that, if faced with the same choice, he'd do the same.

Just to spite Ulquiorra, Ichigo wanted to tell him that as long as he didn't try eating anyone, it should be fine, but decided that it wasn't worth it. Ichigo's anger concerning the incident in Urahara's Shop had simmered down. He knew that it had been unconscious. That, however, didn't make Ulquiorra any less dangerous.

"It will be fine," Ichigo said finally.

"Are there any other questions you have?"

It seemed that Ulquiorra was serious and wasn't trying to mock him. There were a few more questions Ichigo wanted to ask but they concerned Mayuri's research and it would make more sense if Kisuke himself cleared them. Otherwise, he doubted Ulquiorra would want to talk about the time he spent in captivity, nobody would. He could only imagine how awful it was.

"No," Ichigo said, shaking his head. "I don't think anything else is my business."

"I will have to return there and destroy the laboratory," Ulquiorra said.

His body suddenly rigid, Ichigo leaned forward in his seat. "I don't think this is a very good idea."

Ulquiorra didn't understand what Ichigo had said but the objection to the idea was clear on the red-head's face and, in reaction to it, the Arrancar's eyes lit up with bright emerald. They glared at each other challengingly. For some reason it only now became apparent to Ichigo that Ulquiorra would want revenge. He would try to kill Mayuri too, just as he had snapped Nemu's neck. This was wrong, but Ichigo couldn't deny that if Ulquiorra did that, he would be able to justify his actions.

The Arrancar noticed the red-head's glare soften then Ichigo broke the eye contact and just turned his head away. Puzzled, he watched Ichigo tapping on the notebook with his pen.

Ichigo realized that Ulquiorra was waiting for him to say something. With a sigh, he started writing. He wondered why Ulquiorra just didn't want to start everything anew. Just to return to Hueco Mundo and…well, just do what Hollows do.

"You all keep calling me a Hollow," Ulquiorra said after reading what Ichigo had scribbled down. "I am not. And yes, I will return to Hueco Mundo as soon as I deal with him."

Ichigo suppressed a groan. This was going to blow up right in his face. Or right in Mayuri's face. "I understand that you got a bone to pick with him; I won't interfere in your and Mayuri's affairs. However, there can't be any innocent victims."

Ulquiorra's eyebrow arched. "Innocent? In that case you could blow up the entire Soul Society and there would be no victims."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. The pot calling the kettle black. "I'm serious here."

"I think you have got a faulty conviction that you can order me around."

This was what Ichigo had been waiting for. He didn't think he was ordering the Arrancar around. He, however, had to agree with Kisuke's opinion that Ulquiorra had really been compliant all this time, too compliant. Up until now, where it really mattered.

"I don't know," Ichigo spat, "maybe that's because I saved your sorry ass and now don't want to be responsible for hundreds of innocent people's deaths!" Nearly growling in frustration, he wrote down a few sentences, the letters big and sketchy. He slapped the notepad on the table in front of Ulquiorra.

"That's utter drivel," Ulquiorra said after reading. "What hundreds of deaths? I just want to destroy my horn and anything else that can be used."

"Ah," Ichigo said suddenly, leaning back in his chair, his frustration completely lost in shock. "Ah," he repeated. "You think he'll continue cloning…? Well, yes," he drawled in realization, "he would…" Ichigo rubbed at his face with his palms. Behind his closed eyelids he could see not one but three, no, five emaciated Ulquiorras in tattered clothing, covered in their own blood, begging him to kill them.

Ulquiorra was right, they had to get the horn back and make sure Mayuri ceased whatever he had been doing with it. Now how to do it, was… He let out a long groan. If this went bad, he might end up accused of treason. Keeping Ulquiorra at his house probably already was.

"I will help you," Ichigo said resigned to his fate. "But we'll need a plan. A very good plan or we'll end up being chased by all thirteen squads and their captains. And no one has to die."

"What? Why do you keep talking? You know I can't hear you."

Muttering under his breath, Ichigo started writing. He could definitely see why Ulquiorra would want to kill Mayuri but the only thing he wanted to aid him in was destroying the horn.

Ulquiorra looked at the notepad with unconcealed surprise then his green eyes rose to Ichigo. Now there was suspicion in those eyes. "Why do you want to get involved? This doesn't concern you at all."

"It does," Ichigo said firmly. "I don't like what he's doing either. And…" Not finishing his sentence, he turned his head at the sound of the front door opening and closed his mouth. His own voice wafted from the corridor and soon Kon and Orihime appeared in the kitchen doorway. Kon gave Ichigo a sheepish look.

"She wanted to see him as soon as I told her."

"Oh, really?" Ichigo wondered. "And which part of 'don't tell anyone' you didn't understand?"

TBC


	5. Part 5

**Belle-kurama-style-bankai **&** falsedfaith691**: You didn't need to wait long for an update:)

xxxxx

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach – it belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I am not making any money from writing it.

Warnings:

1. Yaoi (male x male). Ulquiorra x Ichigo and vice versa. Other pairings?

2. Ichigo – almost 19 years old; Ulquiorra – probably a few hundred as a Hollow and about a decade or so as an Arrancar?

3. Post anime (haven't read the manga).

4. Alternate Universe.

5. I'm not a native speaker, thus expect various language oddities.

6. I'm not very familiar with all the details in the anime, and I am also new to _Bleach_ fandom, so I will be straying away from the canon quite frequently. I do my research but _Bleach_ is a vast universe that is not so easy to grasp. I must admit, though, that there are also things in the anime that don't make sense to me and I take the liberty of recreating certain parts of this universe as I see fit.

7. **Looking for a beta-reader for this fanfic.** You must be a native speaker and at least better at English grammar than I am. Please write me an email if you're interested.

**The Heart in My Hand **

by chayron (lttomb yahoo com)

Part 5

Ichigo shoveled a spoon of tea leaves into each cup then added sugar. Waiting for the kettle to boil, he glanced at the table with three other people. Ulquiorra was sitting quietly, looking at Orihime, who was shouting at him, asking him about his health. It didn't seem he was keen on talking much. Kon looked rather bewildered about the situation. Ichigo could tell he was regretting having brought Orihime here.

"He can't hear you," Ichigo said.

"Are you eating properly?" she shouted even louder, making Kon cover his ears.

"No, he can't hear you," Ichigo tried again. "As in he's deaf. Just use that notebook to talk to him."

Shocked, Orihime turned to Ichigo. "Why is he deaf? He wasn't deaf last time I saw him."

"It's…a bit complicated," Ichigo said. He didn't want to get her any more involved than she already was. He was going to strangle Kon later.

"Is he eating properly? He's very frail. It's like there's only half of him left."

"We are working on that," Ichigo assured her.

"Oh, I know!" she said, turning back to Ulquiorra to give the Arrancar a bright smile. "I am going to bring you some food from my part-time job every day! It's only buns and breads, but they are very nutritious and tasty."

"Umm, he can't really…"

"And milk! You have to drink milk every day. It's full of proteins, very good for you."

Seeing how Ulquiorra just kept staring at her wordlessly, Orihime grabbed the notebook and started writing at speed. Ichigo and Kon exchanged looks over her bent head. 'Do something!' Kon mouthed. Ichigo shrugged. She was going to smother Ulquiorra with care and concern. She was good at that.

He brought the tea to the table, put one cup in front of Kon, the other in front of Orihime and sat down. He watched Ulquiorra reading her handwriting, his facial expression never changing. Ichigo was a little surprised – he had expected Ulquiorra to show more reaction to Orihime's presence. He had been of the impression that just right before his death something had clicked between them. Something quite important even though he didn't understand what it had been.

"Oh, right!" Orihime said enthusiastically. "I've got some vitamins." She grabbed her handbag off the chair and started digging inside it.

From his personal experience, Ichigo knew that Orihime's handbag was of the same family branch as black holes and it was going to take a while. He nudged Kon in the side and told him to drink his tea to warm up. He had warned Kon to take an umbrella before leaving the house, but the Modified Soul had still managed to forget it. He had already changed his wet clothes but his hair was still damp. The last thing he needed was for his body to catch a cold.

Orihime wasn't having much luck with her black hole and hung it back onto the back of the chair. Then her face lit up with realization and she jumped to her feet. She rushed out of the kitchen and into the corridor. Slowly, Ulquiorra pushed the notebook away from himself.

"Just nod a lot," Ichigo suggested, nodding his head repeatedly to illustrate. "That usually helps."

Kon sniggered. "Well, now I can clearly see why you two didn't last long."

"Longer than you anyway," Ichigo said with a snort. "And give my freaking body back! You're going to give it a cold!"

"No way! We are still on a date!" Kon protested harshly.

"The hell you are. Look how she's…" he trailed off at the sight of Orihime reentering the kitchen. She was carrying a small varicolored bottle.

"I had them in my raincoat all along," she said, walking over to the table quickly. With a sheepish smile, she held out the bottle for Ulquiorra.

The Arrancar reached out for the bottle but then something strange happened to Orihime's steps. Her right foot slipped, her body lurching sideways and the next thing Ulquiorra knew was himself being knocked out of the chair and then he was airborne. He huffed loudly when his back hit the floor, the female landing on top of him. The vitamin bottle exploded on his shoulder, spilling varicolored pills in all directions.

Kon was staring at them on the floor, his teacup frozen in the air, his mouth open. Ulquiorra obviously didn't even dare to move, his face having been swallowed by two huge lulling mounds. Kon felt he was about to explode with jealousy. Miracles like this only happened once in a lifetime.

Orihime scrambled off the Arrancar quickly. "I'm so sorry!" she apologized at once. "Are you okay? I think I tripped over something." She looked around to see what had been the cause and saw the floor was wet near Kon's chair. It must be from his hair. "I'm so sorry," she repeated again.

Ulquiorra watched her gathering the scattered pills off the floor and bent down to help. He picked a few pills and inspected them curiously. They were shaped in various forms, mostly like some kinds of animals.

"It's alright. It's alright already," Ulquiorra muttered when Orihime didn't stop apologizing for a few minutes. "Really, it's not easy to keep balance with such big…feet, I'd imagine."

Orihime blushed. "Yes, I'm sorry."

Kon looked at Ichigo, who seemed to have choked on something. The red-head was coughing and laughing at the same time. "If he's trying to flirt with her, he's got the artistic flair of a blindfolded giraffe on morphine," Kon spat. He glared at Ichigo, who bent over the table in renewed spasms of laughter. "This is not funny! He's flirting with my girlfriend!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ichigo laughed. He pointed at the notepad in the middle of the table. "Feel free to write a letter of complaint to him."

Kon grabbed the notepad and the pen. Angry characters, words and sentences quickly formed on the page. His enthusiasm lessened somewhat when Ulquiorra and Orihime were done picking the vitamins and returned to sit at the table. Orihime poured the pills she had gathered in front of Ulquiorra and the Arrancar nodded quickly. With a roll of his eyes, Kon tore the page out and slapped it on the hill of the pills. Ulquiorra took it, read, then, giving Kon a stare that could make mountains shiver, crumpled the paper in his fist.

Ichigo's eyes followed the paper ball's elegant arch into the sink. Orihime celebrated the accurate throw with an excited applause. Ichigo lowered his eyes to stare at Kon's mug but burst out laughing anyway.

"Do you have an empty bottle to put the pills in?" Orihime asked.

"I'll take a look," Ichigo said, grateful for an excuse to leave the table before he could make an ass of himself. He went to search through the cupboards and the sideboard. While busying himself, he could hear Orihime and Kon talking. The Modified Soul was explaining to her how Ulquiorra appeared in his house. Kon kept quiet about a lot of things, never mentioned Mayuri's name, but Ichigo had already planned to put him into the washing-machine and set it for the longest and most thorough wash cycle there was and nothing was going to change his mind.

When Ichigo returned to the table, he saw that Ulquiorra had kept himself busy as well: three squads of yellow lions, green crocodiles, and brown monkeys had formed in front of him. He was still working on the cats, separating them from the rest of varicolored pills. Ichigo put the small tin he had found in front of Ulquiorra and sat down.

"I'm going away for the weekend but I'll visit you on Monday," Orihime informed them. "He also needs to exercise to put on a little more of muscle mass."

"That's awesome!" Kon chirped excitedly. "You can visit any time!"

"Well, of course," Ichigo said with a nod. He was most interested in the grand battle Ulquiorra was having on the table. It seemed like the cats were winning against the lions. Then a squad of crocodiles swept into the battlefield. The cats fled.

They talked about this and that then, about half an hour later, the rain let up and, using the opportunity, Kon and Orihime decided to leave and continue with their date.

"It will be different when he can finally hear," she was saying while putting her shoes on in the corridor.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed. "In a week or so." He watched her buckling them up. Those were the shoes they had chosen and he had bought them for her seventeenth birthday. They looked a little worn already but she was still wearing them. He felt nostalgic all of a sudden. Then, Kon helped her to dress the raincoat and, with quick goodbyes, they left.

Ichigo closed the door after them and, feeling somewhat lost, stared at it. A few moments later, he turned around and went to the kitchen. Ulquiorra had swept the vitamins off the table and was pouring them into the tin. Ichigo walked over to the table to take the notepad and asked who won.

"The crocodiles apparently," Ulquiorra said with an amused grunt. "They were far better organized than the lions." He put the lid over the tin and pushed it into Ichigo's hands. "But that may also be because I like green color better than yellow."

ooOoOoOoo

It was pouring again but since the two of them were spiritual beings, the rain didn't bother them. It washed over them but didn't stick either to their clothes or bodies. It was just more difficult to see through the white sheen of it.

Ichigo glanced at Ulquiorra behind him. It was obvious that the Arrancar knew the way already, flitting from one rooftop to another effortlessly. It was very likely that he had known the way even before coming to the Human World. As Aizen's subordinate he had probably been informed where Kisuke Urahara lived.

What Ichigo found peculiar was that Ulquiorra didn't have his Zanpakuto anymore. It had disappeared yesterday after unsuccessfully exploring the bathroom and had been gone ever since.

It had only been two days yet it seemed as if so much had happened during them. He felt a little overwhelmed. No, "a little" was an understatement. He had even promised Ulquiorra to help him retrieve the horn from Mayuri. He had probably gotten ahead of himself but they had to stop him. What Mayuri had done to Ulquiorra should never be done to any living and reasoning thing. The problem was how to prevent Ulquiorra from trying to kill Mayuri.

Deep in his thoughts, Ichigo didn't even notice how he landed at Urahara's Shop. Surprised, he looked at the door then heard a soft sound of Ulquiorra landing a few steps behind him. The red-head pushed the door open and the chime made a loud clear sound, announcing their visit. Ichigo greeted Ururu at the counter then asked where Kisuke was.

"In the living room," she said with a glance at Ulquiorra. She blushed lightly remembering yesterday. The incident had finally pushed Jinta to confess to her. Red-faced, he had mumbled and stammered a lot but the final result was that they were going out now. She had baked a cake for Ulquiorra in thanks.

Unaware of her grateful eyes and happy thoughts, Ichigo and Ulquiorra passed past rows of showcases with various items and headed for the living room. The red-head opened the door and something black slipped through it and between his legs. The next moment Ulquiorra's reiatsu engulfed him. Ichigo turned his head to see Ulquiorra's greenish Zanpakuto appear in his hand, already drawn. The red-head grabbed Ulquiorra's wrist and pushed it down. Kisuke's reiatsu rose in response to Ulquiorra's and he suddenly was in the doorway too, his Benihime ready. While Ichigo's right hand was gripping Zangetsu's hilt behind his back, he realized that he needed a third hand because now Ulquiorra was forming a Cero. The shop was about to undergo a massive overhaul.

"Argh, stop it, everyone!" Ichigo growled. He turned to Ulquiorra. "Stop it!"

"I was just about to leave," Yoruichi said to Ulquiorra. "There's no need to be so rude."

"He can't hear you," Ichigo said automatically. "And you're a cat; I don't think he can read your lips." As soon as he had said that, he regretted. He waited for a loud booming sound but none came. Yoruichi kept her form as a cat and just sat on her hind legs, staring at Ulquiorra fixedly.

"Anyone else feels like an idiot?" Ichigo asked a few moments later. "How about we disarm?"

"How about you tell that to your buddy?" Kisuke asked. "He's got a Cero aimed at my head."

"Well, you've got Benihime aimed at his neck," Ichigo pointed out. "And he's not my buddy."

"Tell him to disperse his Cero."

Ichigo glanced at Ulquiorra but the Arrancar's grim face showed that it was unlikely he was in the mood to listen. The red-head was quite surprised already that Ulquiorra wasn't trying to shake his hand off his wrist and free his Zanpakuto.

"Okay, how about _all_ of us disarm at the count of three?" Ichigo suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Kisuke agreed. He watched Ichigo let go of Zangetsu and show three fingers to Ulquiorra then motion with his hand at himself, Ulquiorra, and him. It didn't seem that Ichigo realized that he had already let go of his Zanpakuto.

"Okay," Ichigo said, turning back to Kisuke. "One, two, three!" He gave an accusing look to Kisuke. "You didn't let go."

"Well, neither did he."

"Alright," Yoruichi said, moving forward. "No matter how amusing this is to watch, I am a bit in a hurry." She whisked between Ulquiorra's feet and then minced down the corridor with her tail high in the air.

Ulquiorra watched her go then the Cero in his hand started diminishing. He turned to Kisuke and looked at him questioningly since Benihime was still at his throat. The former captain nodded and moved his Zanpakuto away.

"Will she tell them?" Ichigo asked, letting go of Ulquiorra's wrist. The greenish Zanpakuto disappeared. It seemed that the Arrancar had only been wary of Yoruichi. Ichigo was impressed by how well Ulquiorra could differentiate amongst various energy sources. First time he had seen Yoruichi as a cat, he didn't even think there was something special about it.

"She won't," Kisuke said, walking back into the living room. He motioned for Ulquiorra and Ichigo to sit down at the table. "This was just a friendly visit."

After walking into the room, Ichigo was astonished by the change – instead of commonly scattered papers everywhere on the floor, now there were five neat stacks of them along the wall. There was not a speck of dust on the floor, there was even a small potted plant in the corner near the door. This phenomenon occurred only when Yoruichi paid Kisuke a visit. It was quite funny how he tried to make a good impression on her. They had been acquainted for so long that Ichigo doubted anything could impress or disappoint her anymore about Kisuke. Still, he made the effort, which was cute, actually.

"Orihime already knows about Ulquiorra," Ichigo said after all of them sat down at the table. "Which, in turn, means that the rest of our friends do as well. I expect Ishida to knock at my door in an hour or two. At this rate, Soul Society will know in a few days."

"Not necessarily," Kisuke said. He took out his fan from his pocket and started fanning himself distractedly. "They can keep a secret from Soul Society. It's not the first time." Kisuke's hand with the fan faltered at Ichigo's wide eyes that were growing bigger by the second. He followed the red-head's fixed look to his fan and spotted the cause of such a reaction. "Oh."

Ichigo watched the former captain take off the skimpy panties off the fan and put them back into his pocket.

"Sorry about this," Kisuke said, continuing to fan himself. "So what were we talking… Oh, I see you found the rest of them," he said at the sight of Ulquiorra pulling out a bra from under the table. The Arrancar held it by the end and inspected the laces. From across the table Kisuke reached out for the garment. "Thank you very much. Now if you don't mind…"

"Are they Yoruichi's?" Ichigo wondered, watching the bra exchange hands.

"Well, of course they are."

"There is more under the table," Ulquiorra informed them.

"Leave it there," Kisuke told him, storing the bra under the table again. "She will come back and get them."

"You should have just told us you were busy," Ichigo said, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "It's not like there's an emergency; we could've waited."

"I think you misunderstand something," Kisuke said. "She always leaves her clothes here when she is in that form."

"Ah," Ichigo said. He opened his mouth again but then closed it; the mystery of Yoruichi's underwear in Kisuke's pocket was better left unsolved. He cleared his throat. "We've come for more food. Actually, if you gave him more of it, we wouldn't need to come here every day and bother you."

"That's so," Kisuke agreed. "But then I wouldn't be able to keep an eye on you two either."

"Ah."

Kisuke left the room and returned a few minutes later with two boxes in his hands. One was the usual lunch box, the other slightly bigger. He put them on the table in front of Ulquiorra. With a thanks, Ulquiorra took the bigger box and opened it. It was a cake. There was also a short note on top of it.

"A cake?" Ichigo wondered.

"Yes, it's a special thanks from Ururu," Kisuke said. "Just ask her if you want," he said when Ichigo gave him an incredulous look as if wondering if he should also barge into the bathroom while she was taking a shower. Jinta had recently been a pain and Kisuke didn't want to go into details. "So any news?" he asked instead.

Ichigo let out a melodramatic sigh. "Well, he knows he's a clone. Doesn't really bother him. Actually, he's not easily bothered in general."

"Very good," Kisuke said cheerfully. "The last thing we need is an Arrancar with an identity crisis."

Ichigo watched Ulquiorra put away the note after reading and take the knife and the fork that were inside the box with the cake. He considered telling Kisuke about Ulquiorra's intentions concerning Mayuri but decided against that – there was no telling what his reaction would be.

"Why is his Zanpakuto gone?" the red-head wondered. "How can it be gone?"

"You see, it's not exactly a Zanpakuto. It works differently with Arrancars than with Shinigamis. While for us a Zanpakuto is the power source itself, for Arrancars it is the opposite. A Zanpakuto for them is only a tool to store their residual energy. When the need arises they release the seal on their Zanpakuto and use the energy stored in it for their transformations."

"I see," Ichigo said after having mulled over the fact for a few moments. "Then, since he doesn't have a lot of residual energy, he decided not to bother."

"Precisely."

"It is very good."

Ichigo and Kisuke turned to Ulquiorra. The Arrancar had a blissful expression on his face and was obviously enjoying the cake a lot. Ichigo reached out for the fork in Ulquiorra's hand, and Kisuke tensed. There was, however, barely a reaction from Ulquiorra when the red-head took the fork and scooped up some cake to try it.

"How did she even make it?" Ichigo wondered, humming around it. Giving thumbs up, he passed the fork back to Ulquiorra. "It tastes like her usual cakes. What?" he asked at the look on Kisuke's face.

"Usually Hollows don't share their meals easily. I was waiting for him to gauge your eye out with that fork."

"Why would he? He told us it was tasty so he obviously wanted to share. And besides," Ichigo added, shaking his head, "he isn't so petty as to fight over a cake."

Thoughtfully, Kisuke lowered his chin on top of his fan. That was what made Ichigo what he was. He accepted others naturally and without prejudice. He was wary of course, but he always gave the other a chance.

"Is there anything else he told you?" Kisuke asked.

"Well, I didn't ask him about what Mayuri had been doing to him if that's what you want to know; I don't think he'd want to talk about it. I questioned him about his life as a Hollow, but…" Ichigo chuckled. "He actually told me he was a tree."

Kisuke nodded at the red-head's dubious face. "Yes, he was. For about a century."

"Seriously?"

"Well, why would he lie about that?"

"It's not that I thought he lied but… It's not something I hear every day. By the way, how do you know he really was a tree?"

"From Aizen's records." Kisuke motioned at the currently clean floor around them. "It just took me a while to find them. He has records on every Arrancar he has ever created." Kisuke hid his mouth behind the fan, his mischievous eyes glinting. "I took the liberty of taking a peek at them and making copies when Aizen was making havoc."

"Hmm…" Ichigo hummed. You could trust Kisuke to make use of any situation. "Is there anything about his Human life? If he ever had one?"

Kisuke nodded. "Yes, he was a Human about two hundred years ago."

Ichigo perked up. "Oh? So what caused him to become a Hollow?"

Kisuke fanned himself slowly. "He killed his wife."

Ichigo frowned and leaned closer over the table, thinking he had misheard. "Come again?"

"He shot his wife," Kisuke repeated monotonously. "Caught her cheating on him with their neighbor. He tried to kill the neighbor too, but since he was drunk and his aim wasn't so good, the neighbor managed to escape and barricade himself in his house. Later, after realizing what he had done, he hanged himself in their barn. Plagued by the guilt and remorse, he couldn't leave the Living World and this caused him to turn into a Hollow. A few years later he finally left for Hueco Mundo."

The red-head stared at Kisuke with his mouth hanging open. "Eh," he squeaked finally when the whole story had sunk in. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Ulquiorra, who was peacefully enjoying his cake. He found it hard to believe that Ulquiorra could be driven to extremities by jealousy like that. He never gave the impression.

The intent gaze made Ulquiorra raise his head and meet Ichigo's eyes. The Arrancar must have read something in that stare because he pulled out a notebook and a pen from his pocket and pushed it over the table to Ichigo.

"What is it?"

Ichigo shook his head and pushed the notebook away. "Later." Ulquiorra gave him a discontent look but said nothing. He concentrated back on his cake.

"Did they have any children?" Ichigo asked.

Kisuke shrugged. "The report doesn't say anything about them, so probably they did not."

"He told me he doesn't remember anything."

"He doesn't," Kisuke confirmed. "None of them do - it's like becoming a clean slate. Once they turn into Hollows, they forget their Human lives completely."

"So he doesn't know," Ichigo stated.

The former captain shrugged. "Maybe he does if Aizen told him. There are also his and his wife's names there but I don't think they would mean anything to him. Even if he was told... For him this is just some story he has no recollection of. It is doubtful he would even have believed Aizen."

They watched Ulquiorra push aside the half-eaten cake and open the lunch box. He obviously wanted a break from sweetness. Kisuke folded his fan and lowered it to his lap. Recently his days had become busy with the visits from Yoruichi and Ichigo. Jinta and Ururu had also been a handful. Maybe it was alright, though, since his days were usually dull.

"So have you asked him what he intends to do about Mayuri?"

Ichigo scratched the back of his head urgently. "Ahh… Well, he doesn't like him much."

"I'd be surprised if he did."

"Umm…" Ichigo drawled uncertainly. "I think you'd better ask him yourself."

Amused, Kisuke took the notebook from the table and, after writing down the question, pushed it over to Ulquiorra. The Arrancar read it, glanced at Ichigo then looked at Kisuke again. He picked the notebook off the table and, wordlessly, stored it back in his pocket. As an afterthought, Ulquiorra also reached out for the pen and put it in his other pocket.

Kisuke waited for a few moments but it became obvious that the Arrancar didn't even consider answering. The former captain chuckled. "Well, this is as good answer as any. And to think that I've been so courteous… Giving food and everything…"

"I think the word is 'curious' not 'courteous'," Ichigo corrected him. He rolled his eyes as Kisuke gave him an overly insulted look and covered the lower half of his face with his fan.

TBC


End file.
